Thursday, October 03, 2019
Preserving the Lost Era of Popeye's Thimble Theatre
An interview with Jonathan Lozovsky
By Fred M. Grandinetti
Popeye the Sailor celebrated his 90th birthday on January 17, 2019. In Huntington Beach California a beautifully constructed timeline of the sailor's career was on display. Naturally, the work of E.C. Segar, who created Popeye for his Thimble Theatre comic strip was showcased. Segar's stories are regarded as classics and have been reprinted several times in different book collections. Bud Sagendorf (1915-1994) and Bobby London, two of Segar's successors on the comic strip, had their work on display. Sagendorf was Segar's assistant and produced the Popeye comic book series for several years. London took a more modern approach to the characters introducing them to heavy metal music and the home shopping network.
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| Bela Zaboly |
Zaboly, Sims and Stein’s work, except for brief snippets, have not been reprinted in the United States. That has now changed thanks to the efforts of archivist Jonathan Lozovsky. He took on the daunting task of locating all of Popeye's comic strips from this missing era. Lozovsky collected them from various sources and cleaned them up. They are now published in each issue of The Official Popeye Fan Club Newsmagazine. I had the pleasure of interviewing Lozovsky regarding his preservation effort.
Q:When did you first discover Popeye?
A: I was first introduced to the Popeye franchise by my father with the Fleischer cartoons. I specifically remember the first time I saw the sailor on the small screen. The cartoon was Seasin's Greetinks! and my eyes immediately increased in size because of the smooth and fluid movement that the Fleischers’ accomplished. I later became more and more interested in the character Popeye and wanted to know everything about him. During my search I realized that Popeye was also in comic strip form and I quickly fell in love with E.C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre. After that I wanted to know what else E.C. Segar had created, and during that time I sadly found out that he died in 1938. But then I also found out that the Thimble Theatre strip was still being published and I wanted to know what happened to Popeye after E.C. Segar's death. After years and years of waiting for something of Popeye to be reprinted in hardcover form, my faith began to diminish with only the Segar years being reprinted by Fantagraphics. I thought what better way to preserve these rarely seen comic strips than to collect them digitally where they wouldn’t tarnish or yellow because of age. I created this project for the true Popeye fans to read and enjoy.
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| Zaboly entertaining young fans |
Q: Do you recall how you were introduced to the artwork of Bela Zaboly? What was your initial impression?
I was introduced to Bela Zaboly’s artwork during my search for everything Popeye related. Back then the internet was still a fresh idea and Google was an even newer idea. I did a quick Google search on Popeye and found some strips that didn’t quite look like the E.C. Segar strips I was previously familiar with. I was fascinated. Turns out they were from the early 1950’s, by Bela Zaboly and Tom Sims. I immediately thought “how could I find more?” Back then there were very few Bela Zaboly strips available to the public and reprints were virtually impossible to find in the United States of America (outside the states, it seems Zaboly’s strips were more commonly reprinted). My first impression was just how interesting the “new” Popeye characters looked.
By the 1950’s, Bela Zaboly had fully transformed the Thimble Theatre characters into his own style. Originally, Bela Zaboly replicated E.C. Segar’s style to match with the consistency of the strip. He removed the gritty style and matched closer to the cartoon style of the era. I think this really helped him differentiate his artwork. He was the first cartoonist on the Thimble Theatre strip to introduce a new art style to the Thimble Theatre franchise and I believe that should be applauded.
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| Tom Sims, circa 1920s |
A: Tom Sims was a great writer for keeping the Thimble Theatre characters in their usual environment. His writing style was consistent, and he didn’t take risks through his Popeye run. I believe that Tom Sims enjoyed the concept of keeping the Thimble Theatre characters at bay and on the sea boat.
On the other hand, Ralph Stein was a major risk taker. With Ralph Stein taking over the writing position of the strip, we see the Thimble Theatre characters take many adventures. We see Popeye travel all around the world. Ralph Stein introduced and re-introduced so many characters that readers either never saw before or remembered from the E.C. Segar years. We also see that after Ralph Stein took over as the new writer, Bela Zaboly’s style once again changed and now became his most recognizable style. We even see Swee’Pea growing up and at one point is able to walk on his own. Bluto returns to the strips under Ralph Stein. The strip really comes into its own under Ralph Stein’s writing style.
Q: Why do you feel Bud Sagendorf and Bobby London get the lion’s share of attention while Zaboly, Sims and Stein’s contributions are barely mentioned? Was it their frequent omission which you led you to collect their work?
I discovered so much while collecting these “lost” strips. We now have confirmed and accurate dates for characters that made their first appearances or reappearances in the Zaboly strips. We finally have the ability to fully read through storylines that were previously only available in either broken sections or in low quality. With The Zaboly Project being completed, more research could be done on Bela Zaboly, Tom Sims, and Ralph Stein.
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| Sims/Zaboly Sunday page |
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| Stein/Zaboly daily strip |
Now in Bobby London’s case, he became popular for bringing the Thimble Theatre characters into a completely new world; the modern world. Almost overnight, Popeye and his friends were advanced forward almost eighty years into the future and learned to adapt to their surroundings. Bobby London took risks where most artists wouldn’t dare go and for those risks his employment at King Feature Syndicate was terminated.
I believe the reason that Zaboly, Sims and Stein’s contributions are not being appreciated today is due to the availability of their work. As of now (unless you had a massive album of the original newspaper cutouts), the only way to view these “lost” strips is through my project; The Zaboly Project, and through the Official Popeye Fan Club magazines. Without a project like this, these strips would be forgotten as it has been for some time now.
Q: What sources did you use to obtain the comic strips and how difficult was it to make each presentable for viewing? Could you describe your process?
A: The process of collecting these digital newspaper comic strips is rather difficult. I start by finding a digital source that features the Thimble Theatre comic strips in their comics’ section. Then I screen capture the section that features the comic strip and save it onto my desktop. I then rename the file by the date of the comic strip. After I collect about a month's worth of comic strips, I upload it to a cloud-based storage drive that allows me to access the strips anywhere via smartphone or tablet. After I finish collecting the strips, I replace any strips that are smudged or hard to read.
Finding the strips themselves isn't hard, but when you’re missing one important strip it becomes a nightmare to find a new digital newspaper source that has that one particular strip you need.
Q: What has been the reaction from Popeye fans regarding your efforts?
A: The reaction from Popeye fans regarding my Bela Zaboly project has been very positive! When I first had the idea and motivation to complete such an ambitious assignment, the Popeye community was extremely supportive, but they also understood that something like this couldn’t be done overnight. The project proved to be very challenging as some of my vintage newspaper sources had either abruptly stopped publishing the Thimble Theatre strip or just didn’t have high enough quality scans in their archives. This is when the Popeye community really stepped in and help tremendously by supplying the missing pieces to the puzzle. When the project was finally finished, the Popeye community loved it! They loved the idea that they would now be able to read the continuation of a once “lost” era in Thimble Theatre history.
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| Stein/Zaboly daily strip |
To join the Official Popeye Fan Club to follow the work of Bela Zaboly, Tom Sims and Ralph Stein please go to http://www.popeyethesailor.com/club/
Comments:
Hello Allen, SG fans-
I offer here some reasons why the serious collector reprints of Popeye have been nearly exclusively of the Segar era, just as the international commercial comic book reprints were of the Sagendorf era; nobody much wanted the stuff between.
When Segar passed awy in 1938, the strip was given to Doc Winner, the KFS bullpen man who was given the job of fill-in ghost whenever the need arose, whether he was suitable or not. He was the hackiest of hacks, yet he was put in charge of what then was our fastest growing title. The Sims-Zaboly team should have been put in place from the start, but it took over year of Winner's dreary wanderings to take the shine off the Popeye strip first. I know our client list for Popeye shrank steadily from 1938 on, never recovering.
The Zaboly style was far superior to Winner, and the strip looked good. The trouble is, perhaps with an eye on increasing marketability,the material takes a definately childish turn, especially the Sundays, which are on a preschool level.
The 1950's and the Stein years are bizarre in that they decided to dump everything and recast the premise as to be no longer a story about Popeye, but about Popeye and the never heard of before, never asked for, never needed, new character, Sir Vauxhaul Pomeroy. It's them two, like Siamese twins. He's stuck to Popeye constantly. It's unusual to see them NOT together in every panel. They really wanted to push this new character,who was a caricature pith-helmeted, monocled British Big Game hunter. To include him constantly, the panels are often very crowded, that and it's also very wordy, squeezing the action even further. In addition, Stein's tenure also featured lots of exaggerated hour-glass figured, scantily clad girls at every turn, even going to surreal lengths, like having a story villianess, be a girl Admiral dressed like she's in a Minsky version of HMS Pinafore.
Outside of England, Where Dean's put out some Christmas Annuals featuring Popeye and "Pommy" in about 1957 to 1960, the new character did nothing good for Popeye. When Sagendorf arrived in 1960, it put the series at least back in recognizable form. Now say what you like about Sagendorf, he was far from the worst. In fact, his strips were loved and reprinted all over the world for many years in papers and comic books. This is not really so about his predecessors. In all my years at KFS, supplying international publishers with material, nobody ever asked for anything but Segar and Sagendorf.
As for London's version, I don't know if there's many who might care about it that don't have the story yet,so I'll just briefly state here that he decided he'd use Popeye to air his leftward politics in a way intended to be offensive and controversial. He got his controversy, and the sack. I think a collection of some of his strips came out later, but if you read them, throughout, one gets the feeling that he held Popeye in contempt. It's all one long mockery of Popeye and everything you know about him. Feel the anger! No foriegn clients had much interest in them after the sheer novelty wore off. We never made back whatever we paid him. Today, (at least when I left)in the few client papers remaining, Popeye is in perpetual Sagendorf loop of late 1960s to mid 1980's strips.
I offer here some reasons why the serious collector reprints of Popeye have been nearly exclusively of the Segar era, just as the international commercial comic book reprints were of the Sagendorf era; nobody much wanted the stuff between.
When Segar passed awy in 1938, the strip was given to Doc Winner, the KFS bullpen man who was given the job of fill-in ghost whenever the need arose, whether he was suitable or not. He was the hackiest of hacks, yet he was put in charge of what then was our fastest growing title. The Sims-Zaboly team should have been put in place from the start, but it took over year of Winner's dreary wanderings to take the shine off the Popeye strip first. I know our client list for Popeye shrank steadily from 1938 on, never recovering.
The Zaboly style was far superior to Winner, and the strip looked good. The trouble is, perhaps with an eye on increasing marketability,the material takes a definately childish turn, especially the Sundays, which are on a preschool level.
The 1950's and the Stein years are bizarre in that they decided to dump everything and recast the premise as to be no longer a story about Popeye, but about Popeye and the never heard of before, never asked for, never needed, new character, Sir Vauxhaul Pomeroy. It's them two, like Siamese twins. He's stuck to Popeye constantly. It's unusual to see them NOT together in every panel. They really wanted to push this new character,who was a caricature pith-helmeted, monocled British Big Game hunter. To include him constantly, the panels are often very crowded, that and it's also very wordy, squeezing the action even further. In addition, Stein's tenure also featured lots of exaggerated hour-glass figured, scantily clad girls at every turn, even going to surreal lengths, like having a story villianess, be a girl Admiral dressed like she's in a Minsky version of HMS Pinafore.
Outside of England, Where Dean's put out some Christmas Annuals featuring Popeye and "Pommy" in about 1957 to 1960, the new character did nothing good for Popeye. When Sagendorf arrived in 1960, it put the series at least back in recognizable form. Now say what you like about Sagendorf, he was far from the worst. In fact, his strips were loved and reprinted all over the world for many years in papers and comic books. This is not really so about his predecessors. In all my years at KFS, supplying international publishers with material, nobody ever asked for anything but Segar and Sagendorf.
As for London's version, I don't know if there's many who might care about it that don't have the story yet,so I'll just briefly state here that he decided he'd use Popeye to air his leftward politics in a way intended to be offensive and controversial. He got his controversy, and the sack. I think a collection of some of his strips came out later, but if you read them, throughout, one gets the feeling that he held Popeye in contempt. It's all one long mockery of Popeye and everything you know about him. Feel the anger! No foriegn clients had much interest in them after the sheer novelty wore off. We never made back whatever we paid him. Today, (at least when I left)in the few client papers remaining, Popeye is in perpetual Sagendorf loop of late 1960s to mid 1980's strips.
# posted by 
: 10/04/2019 4:11 PM
: 10/04/2019 4:11 PM
I’ve already told my story to CBR and it’s a cheap shot to go after my politics or love for the strip which were both automatically held in low regard by Johnson and other movers at the syndicate. My client list was on the rise when they cut me loose and they were afraid they’d either have to pay me more than the slave wages I was getting or I’dvtry to run away with the rights to the strip or both. - BL
Having read all of Segar's Popeye, much of Sagendorf's Popeye, some of Zaboly's Popeye and all of London's Popeye, I must strongly disagree with Mark Johnson's comments about London. He knew Segar's characters and had a better feel for who they were than anyone who came after Segar, with the possible exception of Sagendorf (who had MANY more years to work with them). - Bob Deveau, Lifelong Popeye Fan
# posted by : 10/07/2019 5:41 PM
: 10/07/2019 5:41 PM
Andrés P. Fdez. Harsh words towards your work indeed. He goes as far as saying that there's not much interest overseas for your work and I for one can say -being responsible for the publication of your work in Spain and Latin America- that Mr. Johnson is wrong because Bobby London's Popeye strips have been received very well and continue to harvest well deserved praise.
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Wednesday, September 07, 2022
Toppers: Otto Honk
While NEA offered some very fine comic strips among their blanket service offerings, one real stinker was the Sunday version of J.R. Williams' fine daily panel, Out Our Way. The Sunday version took one occasional aspect of the daily, a typical suburban family named the Willets, and made them the star of the Sunday show. Despite the Sunday debuting a mere eight months after the daily in 1922, Williams evidently fely secure enough in his position that he probably never touched the Sunday strip. Instead it was handed off to Neg Cochran, who worked on it anonymously until after the death of Williams in 1957 -- surely some sort of record for longevity in ghosting a strip?
But why did the Out Our Way Sunday last so long, you ask, if it was such a stinker? Well, I'll tell you that Neg Cochran was the son of NEA editor Hal Cochran, and you can draw your own conclusion. But nepotism can't be the whole reason, because the Sunday Out Our Way, as hard as it for me to believe it, was a popular inclusion to Sunday sections for NEA subscribers even though there were other and better Sunday strip options distributed by the syndicate. Perhaps it was simply that newspaper editors didn't really catch on that their very popular daily series was, in its Sunday version, a deathly pale imitation. I dunno.
Anyhow, this post is supposed to be about the topper, not Out Our Way, so excuse my digression. As with most NEA full page Sundays in the 1920s and 30s, Out Our Way's toppers were produced mostly by different creators than the main strip. This interesting innovation allowed other bullpen cartoonists to share the Sunday color section limelight, and meant that the presumably hard-working cartoonist of the main feature was given a bit of slack.
Out Our Way went through several toppers that were Sunday versions of NEA daily strips; the first was Mom 'n' Pop, and that was followed by Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs. After that there was a strange long foray into activity and puzzle features, often wasting the talent of Crane. On August 19 1934* the puzzles were finally dropped and a new topper debuted. This was Otto Honk, featuring a goofball title character who walks into the same sorts of gags that readers older then six have already seen a million times. Penning this was Bela Zaboly, a young NEA bullpenner at this time. It was an inauspicious debut for Zaboly, but you might say that the quality of Otto Honk meshed perfectly with the Sunday Out Our Way.
Zaboly got lucky in 1936 when Gene Ahern, creator of the popular NEA feature Our Boarding House, decided to jump ship. Zaboly got yanked off the Otto Honk assignment to help continue Ahern's orphaned feature; his last Otto Honk ran on March 15 1936**. Left with no creator to handle the topper, NEA opted to assign it to Neg Cochran himself, which finally gave Neg the opportunity to see his name on the Sunday page, albeit only on the topper. Evidently this didn't strike him as that much of an honor, because he dropped Otto Honk as soon as a replacement could be found. The last Otto Honk appeared on June 21 1936**, and on the next Sunday there debuted the best thing there ever was about the Out Our Way Sunday -- George Scarbo's fabulously drawn Comic Zoo topper.
* Source: Brooklyn Eagle
** Source: NEA archives at Ohio State University
Labels: Topper Features
Comments:
Out Our Way and Our Boarding House ran side by side in the San Jose Mercury daily edition as late as the 60s. I remember them as oddities, single panels with dialogue balloons and frequent continuities. Our Boarding House appeared in the Sunday funnies; Out Our Way didn't.
To this day I find myself blurring Out Our Way with Clare Briggs, perhaps because they both used recurring subheads ("The Worry Wart", "Why Mothers Get Gray", and "Heroes Are Made, Not Born" in OOW), had a repertory of recurring characters in different settings, and featured nostalgia, usually involving small town kids.
To this day I find myself blurring Out Our Way with Clare Briggs, perhaps because they both used recurring subheads ("The Worry Wart", "Why Mothers Get Gray", and "Heroes Are Made, Not Born" in OOW), had a repertory of recurring characters in different settings, and featured nostalgia, usually involving small town kids.
AND ... Briggs and Williams both had ghosts doing their Sunday series (Mr and Mrs for Briggs), both of which were crap but inexplicably ran in lots of papers!
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Friday, March 22, 2024
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Bill Freyse
Bill Freyse was born William Henry Freyse on June 12, 1898, in Detroit, Michigan, according to his World War I and II draft cards. His parents, both German immigrants, were William Henry Freyse (changed from August F. W. Freizse which was on an 1881 Michigan marriage record) and Maria Hillebrecht.
The 1900 United States Census counted Freyse as the youngest of five siblings. The family resided in Detroit at 8 McArthur Street. His father was a paint salesman.
In the 1910 census, the Freyse family lived at 192 Theodore Street in Detroit. Freyse graduated from Central High School.
Freyse’s father passed away on February 16, 1913.
The 1918 Detroit city directory listed Freyse as an artist at 192 Theodore.
On September 12, 1918, Freyse signed his World War I draft card. His address was unchanged. His employer was the Leslie-Judge Company which published Leslie’s Weekly and Judge magazines. Freyse was described as tall, slender, with blue eyes and light brown hair.
Freyse’s art training included Federal School courses. He was featured in advertisements and in Federal School publications.
Cartoons Magazine, August 1919
The Federal School News, 1925
The Federal Illustrator, Summer 1926
The 1920 census recorded Freyse and his mother in Detroit at 293 Webb Avenue. He was a newspaper cartoonist.
Freyse’s mother passed away on April 17, 1929.
According to the 1930 census, Freyse was a Detroit resident at 1141 Webb Avenue. He was the district representative of a theater chain.
On July 23, 1930, Freyse and Evelyn H. Schwab were married at Highland Park, Michigan. Their daughter, Lynn, was born on March 24, 1937.
The Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 4, Works of Art, 1933, New Series, Volume 28, Number 3 had this entry:
Freyse (William Henry)* 5267Movie mad Mazie. © 1 c. Aug. 5, 1933; G 12105.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Gene Ahern created the NEA series, Our Boarding House, which debuted on October 3, 1921 and ended on December 22, 1984. Ahern’s last strip was dated March 14, 1936. Wood Cowan did the series beginning on March 15, 1936 into 1936. Bela Zaboly took over in 1936 to 1938. Bill Freyse produced the Sunday in 1939 to April 13, 1969. The following artists were Jim Branagan then Les Carroll. The writers included Gene Ahern, Wood Cowan, Bill Braucher, Tom McCormick, Les Carroll, and Phil Pastoret.
The 1940 census said Freyse and his family lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio at 18717 Winslow Road. In 1935, he resided in Santa Monica, California. Freyse was a cartoonist who had two years of college and earned $5,000 in 1939.
On February 16, 1942, Freyse signed his World War II draft card in Tucson, Arizona where his mailing address was 1000 North Campbell Avenue. He had moved for his wife’s health. His residence address was 17130 Scottsdale, Boulevard, Shaker Heights, Ohio. Freyse’s description was six feet, 172 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair.
Freyse’s 1950 home was in Tucson at 2803 Via Rolands. He was newspaper syndicate cartoonist. In 1951, his son, Stephen was born.
Freyse was a member of the National Cartoonists Society.
The Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 8, Part 1, Number 1, Books and Pamphlets, January-June 1954 had this entry:
Freyse, Bill.Unofficial hysterical facts about old Tucson. Distributed by Tucson News Agency. © William Henry Freyse; 4Jan54; A120622.
Freyse passed away on March 3, 1969, in Tucson. He was laid to rest at East Lawn Palms Cemetery and Mortuary. The Associated Press obituary said
William Freyse who drew the “Boarding House” cartoon panel for 30 years died Monday at a Tucson hospital following a month-long illness. He was 70.Freyse moved to Tucson in the early 1940s because of his wife’s health. He moved from Cleveland Ohio where he had started drawing the cartoon panel. A native of Detroit Freyse joined the Newspaper Enterprise Association in 1939.He began the “Copper Penny” comic strip which later proved unsuccessful. Freyse took over the “Our Boarding” panel when former artist Bela Zaboly took over the “Popeye” strip in Sept. 1939. Freyse’s last daily “Our Boarding House” panel will appear Mar. 15. The Sunday panel will end April 20.His daughter, Mrs. Lynn Borden of Los Angeles Calif., held the title of Miss Arizona in 1958 and later became an actress and fashion model. She played the wife in the television series “Hazel.” Freyse is survived by his widow, Evelyn, a daughter, Mrs. Lynn Borden, and a son, Stephen.
Freyse’s daughter passed away on March 3, 2015. His son lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Editor & Publisher, March 15, 1969, said
Branagan continues ‘Our Boarding House’“Our Boarding House” will be continued by artist James P. Branagan, who worked closely with the late William Freyse, who died just two weeks before he was to announce his retirement and turn the cartoon over to Branagan.The dialogue of Major Hoople and other familiar characters of the Boarding House will continue to be written by Tom McCormack. The feature is distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Further Reading
The World Encyclopedia of Comics (1976), Bill Freyse
The Encyclopedia of American Comics, Our Boarding House
Together, March 1957, Lynn Freyse
TV Guide, January 29, 1966, Lynn Borden
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Mystery Strips of E&P - "P" Listings
As you'll no doubt recall from previous installments of this series, the following features were all listed in the Editor & Publisher annual Syndicate Directory listings. Problem is that I have not been able to find these ones in any American newspaper. I'm looking for positive proof that (1) these features did indeed exist, (2) they are actually comics of some sort and weren't just mislabeled in E&P, and (3) they ran in U.S. newspapers. If you have any information about any mystery strip on this list please, please, please tell me all about it. And if you can provide positive proof that the mystery feature did indeed run in U.S. newspapers (a tearsheet is ideal proof) and qualifies for listing in the Stripper's Guide index, you can be the recipient of a goodie box chock full of all manner of comic strip ephemera -- could be reprint books, old tearsheets, magazines, original art or all of the above. Trust me that my goodie boxes do not disappoint! (SORRY - as of 2018 goodie boxes
are sadly no longer available - I now live in Canada and our postal
rates are so outrageous that I cannot afford to send out goodie boxes -
SORRY!)
If you prefer to contact me privately rather than posting a comment on the blog, send it to strippersguide@gmail.com. Please be sure to mention Stripper's Guide in your subject line or I may miss your message in amongst all the spam.
Here's the mystery features starting with letter "P" as in "please get me off this list!". Each listing has the title, years advertised, creator(s), syndicate and format. Sorry, I'd put these in a more attractive tabular form, but Blogger plays havoc with tables:
P.J. Abominable, 1968, John Gallagher, United Feature Syndicate, daily strip
The PO Box, 1993-97, Earl T. Musick, self-syndicated, weekly (author says it sold primarily to specialty publications - thanks Earl!)
Pa and Abie, 1926, Russell, Wheeler-Nicholson, daily strip
Pa and Ma, 1926, Voorhees, John F. Dille, daily strip
Padded Cell, 1942, Charles J. Dunn, Watkins Syndicate, daily panel
Paddy Pigg, 1937, Richard Decker, Allied Features, daily and Sunday strip
A Page For Every Age, 1936, G. Melikov, Nu-Way Features, weekly strip
Pan-Dee-Monium, 1982, Jackson Gray, Mid-Continent Features, daily strip
Pandora, 1948, Kaye Spence, Press Features, daily panel
Panel of Fun, 1939, C. Decker, Bell SYndicate, daily panel
Pantomime, 1975, Sara Black, Spadea Syndicate, daily panel
Paperclips, 1981, Doug Brunner, Community Features, thrice weekly
Paradise Park, 1994-99, R. Claude, Singer Media, weekly strip
Parents Plus, 1968-69, Justin Manning, Four Corners Syndicate, weekly panel
Parking Space, 1931, Russell Askue, McClure Syndicate, daily panel
Party Gators, 1998-2004, Elaine Sandra Abramson, A&A, weekly strip
Party Ranks, 1986-87, Mike Pascal and Joe Stuart, JSA Publications, daily/weekly strip
Pat the Paris Shopper, 1932-35, Joan Carson, John F. Dille, daily strip (fashion feature?)
Patent Nonsense, 1999, Roy Doty, Paradigm-TSA, daily strip
The Patsy, 1933-34, Irma Harms, Thompson Service, daily strip
Patterson's People, 1968-73, Gene Patterson, Allied Features, daily panel
Patty Lee, 1933, Edwin Finch, Henle Features, daily
Peanut Butter Soup, 1990-92, Joe Amadeo and Tom Kerr, Syndicated News Service, weekly
Pebbles, 1951, Henry Boye, McClure Syndicate, daily panel
Pee Wee's Pencil, 1979, Joe Rice, Copley News Service, daily and Sunday panel (found by Charles Brubaker, activity panel, doesn't qualify for SG)
Peeping Tom, 1981, C. Crist, Globe Syndicate, weekly strip
Peg, Ann & Barbara, 1928-30, Mabel Whitney, International Syndicate, daily panel
The Pennypockets, 1939, Wes Dennis, Consolidated News Features, daily strip
People & Things, 1940, Prescott Chaplin, Bell Syndicate, daily/weekly strip (likely illustrated column)
PeraNormal, 1996-98, Jim Pera, Second Ring Syndicate, weekly strip
Percy's World, 1961, Howie Schneider, Page One Syndicate, daily strip
Perfect Couple, 1986, Rick Geary, Copley News Service, twice weekly strip
Peter Panic, 1973-2003, Lo Linkert, Singer Media, daily/weekly panel
Peter Pupp, 1937-39, Bob Kane, Eisner-Iger Associates, weekly strip
Petey, 1935, Lou Darvas, Thompson Service, daily panel
Pews, 1982-85, Joe McKeever, Copley News Service, weekly panel [Charles Brubaker reports that McKeever says he never saw the panel in print -- Copley told him they didn't know which papers, if any, actually ran it]
Phil Ossifer, 1934-36, Clyde Campbell and O. DeCaillet, Thompson Service, daily panel
Phillip's Flock, 1968-85, Doc Goodwin, Dispatch Features, Sunday strip (found in Columbus Dispatch, actually a weekly strip in daily format)
Phoney Photos, 1925, Bret Hart Jr., Readers Syndicate, daily panel
Phrog, 1985-86, George Albitz, Al Smith Service, weekly strip (Found! in Laurel Outlook)
Phyllis, 1939, Bernard Baily, Keystone Press Features, daily strip
Pig Newton, 1983, Mal Hancock, Field Newspaper Syndicate, daily panel/Sunday strip (found! in Philadelphia Daily News)
Pilot Storm, 1959-72, Henk Sprenger, Douglas Whiting, daily strip (Dutch - appeared in U.S.?)
Pinhead Pete, 1928-31, uncredited, Premier Syndicate, weekly panel (found! by Bill Mullins in Cleveland Plain Dealer and Portland Oregonian -- thanks Bill!)
Pinny and his Pals, 1937, Barney Bravman, Foreign Press Syndicate, daily/weekly strip
Pipe Dreams, 1957-63, Rud, Sun News Features, daily/Sunday panel
The Pit, 1957, Morris Turner, Pioneer Press Service, daily panel
Pixel, 1985, Frank Hill and Ted Mancuso, Al Smith Service, weekly strip
Playmates, 1924-25, Lloyd Jones and H.F. Voorhees, John F. Dille, daily strip
Plympton, 1978-81, Bill Plympton, self-syndicated/Universal Press Syndicate, weekly-4 times weekly panel (possibly political cartoon, originated in Soho Weekly News before syndication)
Pollutocrats, 1972, Larkin and Gordon, Allied Feature Syndicate, daily panel
Polly Esther, 1971, Ed McNally, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel
Polymericks, 1978, Steve McKinstry, Enterprise Features, 3 times weekly panel
Ponder This, 1965, Leonard Andrews, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily [Charles Brubaker finds this was a poetry feature, incorrectly categorized in E&P - thanks Charles]
Poor Little Rich Man, 1948, Courtney Dunkel, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel (found! by Michael Vassallo in New York News)
Pop Winters, 1935, Cliff Knight, Triton Syndicate, daily panel
Possum Holler, 1936, Boody Rogers, McClure SYndicate, daily strip
Pre-Columbian Mysteries, 1976, Mario Bertolini, Ed Marzola & Associates, daily strip
Prince, 1986, Winthrop Prince, Chronicle Features, weekly panel (author says it was syndicated as Free Zone to several papers and appeared in the SF Chronicle under this title - thanks Winthrop!)
Private Stuff, 1953, Jack O'Brien, Editors Syndicate, daily panel (found, but only in military base paper The Hilltop Herald -- still unfound in a mainstream paper)
Professor Naturebug, 1971, John Hazlett and Edward Thomas, Dispatch Features, Sunday strip (found in Columbus Dispatch, but very text heavy and doesn't qualify)
Professor Pi, 1959-72, V.T.Born, Douglas Whiting, daily strip (Dutch - appeared in U.S.?)
Professor Unquote, 1948, Bill Henry, Globe Syndicate, daily strip
Proven Proverbs, 1962, Bill Zaboly and William Davy, Select Features, daily panel
Pud, 1989-98, Steven Nease, Southam Syndicate/Liberty Features, daily strip (Canadian - appeared in U.S.?)
Punch Line, 1975-78, Palbo, Community Press Service, weekly panel
Punchline, 1995-96, Tim Newlin, self-syndicated, Sunday strip
Punchy and Judy, 1945, Loy Byrnes, NY Post, daily strip (found! in NY Post)
Puzzy, 1953, Jack Fitch, Editors Syndicate, daily panel
If you prefer to contact me privately rather than posting a comment on the blog, send it to strippersguide@gmail.com. Please be sure to mention Stripper's Guide in your subject line or I may miss your message in amongst all the spam.
Here's the mystery features starting with letter "P" as in "please get me off this list!". Each listing has the title, years advertised, creator(s), syndicate and format. Sorry, I'd put these in a more attractive tabular form, but Blogger plays havoc with tables:
P.J. Abominable, 1968, John Gallagher, United Feature Syndicate, daily strip
The PO Box, 1993-97, Earl T. Musick, self-syndicated, weekly (author says it sold primarily to specialty publications - thanks Earl!)
Pa and Abie, 1926, Russell, Wheeler-Nicholson, daily strip
Pa and Ma, 1926, Voorhees, John F. Dille, daily strip
Padded Cell, 1942, Charles J. Dunn, Watkins Syndicate, daily panel
Paddy Pigg, 1937, Richard Decker, Allied Features, daily and Sunday strip
A Page For Every Age, 1936, G. Melikov, Nu-Way Features, weekly strip
Pan-Dee-Monium, 1982, Jackson Gray, Mid-Continent Features, daily strip
Pandora, 1948, Kaye Spence, Press Features, daily panel
Panel of Fun, 1939, C. Decker, Bell SYndicate, daily panel
Pantomime, 1975, Sara Black, Spadea Syndicate, daily panel
Paperclips, 1981, Doug Brunner, Community Features, thrice weekly
Paradise Park, 1994-99, R. Claude, Singer Media, weekly strip
Parents Plus, 1968-69, Justin Manning, Four Corners Syndicate, weekly panel
Parking Space, 1931, Russell Askue, McClure Syndicate, daily panel
Party Gators, 1998-2004, Elaine Sandra Abramson, A&A, weekly strip
Party Ranks, 1986-87, Mike Pascal and Joe Stuart, JSA Publications, daily/weekly strip
Pat the Paris Shopper, 1932-35, Joan Carson, John F. Dille, daily strip (fashion feature?)
Patent Nonsense, 1999, Roy Doty, Paradigm-TSA, daily strip
The Patsy, 1933-34, Irma Harms, Thompson Service, daily strip
Patterson's People, 1968-73, Gene Patterson, Allied Features, daily panel
Patty Lee, 1933, Edwin Finch, Henle Features, daily
Peanut Butter Soup, 1990-92, Joe Amadeo and Tom Kerr, Syndicated News Service, weekly
Pebbles, 1951, Henry Boye, McClure Syndicate, daily panel
Pee Wee's Pencil, 1979, Joe Rice, Copley News Service, daily and Sunday panel (found by Charles Brubaker, activity panel, doesn't qualify for SG)
Peeping Tom, 1981, C. Crist, Globe Syndicate, weekly strip
Peg, Ann & Barbara, 1928-30, Mabel Whitney, International Syndicate, daily panel
The Pennypockets, 1939, Wes Dennis, Consolidated News Features, daily strip
People & Things, 1940, Prescott Chaplin, Bell Syndicate, daily/weekly strip (likely illustrated column)
PeraNormal, 1996-98, Jim Pera, Second Ring Syndicate, weekly strip
Percy's World, 1961, Howie Schneider, Page One Syndicate, daily strip
Perfect Couple, 1986, Rick Geary, Copley News Service, twice weekly strip
Peter Panic, 1973-2003, Lo Linkert, Singer Media, daily/weekly panel
Peter Pupp, 1937-39, Bob Kane, Eisner-Iger Associates, weekly strip
Petey, 1935, Lou Darvas, Thompson Service, daily panel
Pews, 1982-85, Joe McKeever, Copley News Service, weekly panel [Charles Brubaker reports that McKeever says he never saw the panel in print -- Copley told him they didn't know which papers, if any, actually ran it]
Phil Ossifer, 1934-36, Clyde Campbell and O. DeCaillet, Thompson Service, daily panel
Phillip's Flock, 1968-85, Doc Goodwin, Dispatch Features, Sunday strip (found in Columbus Dispatch, actually a weekly strip in daily format)
Phoney Photos, 1925, Bret Hart Jr., Readers Syndicate, daily panel
Phrog, 1985-86, George Albitz, Al Smith Service, weekly strip (Found! in Laurel Outlook)
Phyllis, 1939, Bernard Baily, Keystone Press Features, daily strip
Pig Newton, 1983, Mal Hancock, Field Newspaper Syndicate, daily panel/Sunday strip (found! in Philadelphia Daily News)
Pilot Storm, 1959-72, Henk Sprenger, Douglas Whiting, daily strip (Dutch - appeared in U.S.?)
Pinhead Pete, 1928-31, uncredited, Premier Syndicate, weekly panel (found! by Bill Mullins in Cleveland Plain Dealer and Portland Oregonian -- thanks Bill!)
Pinny and his Pals, 1937, Barney Bravman, Foreign Press Syndicate, daily/weekly strip
Pipe Dreams, 1957-63, Rud, Sun News Features, daily/Sunday panel
The Pit, 1957, Morris Turner, Pioneer Press Service, daily panel
Pixel, 1985, Frank Hill and Ted Mancuso, Al Smith Service, weekly strip
Playmates, 1924-25, Lloyd Jones and H.F. Voorhees, John F. Dille, daily strip
Plympton, 1978-81, Bill Plympton, self-syndicated/Universal Press Syndicate, weekly-4 times weekly panel (possibly political cartoon, originated in Soho Weekly News before syndication)
Pollutocrats, 1972, Larkin and Gordon, Allied Feature Syndicate, daily panel
Polly Esther, 1971, Ed McNally, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel
Polymericks, 1978, Steve McKinstry, Enterprise Features, 3 times weekly panel
Ponder This, 1965, Leonard Andrews, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily [Charles Brubaker finds this was a poetry feature, incorrectly categorized in E&P - thanks Charles]
Poor Little Rich Man, 1948, Courtney Dunkel, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel (found! by Michael Vassallo in New York News)
Pop Winters, 1935, Cliff Knight, Triton Syndicate, daily panel
Possum Holler, 1936, Boody Rogers, McClure SYndicate, daily strip
Pre-Columbian Mysteries, 1976, Mario Bertolini, Ed Marzola & Associates, daily strip
Prince, 1986, Winthrop Prince, Chronicle Features, weekly panel (author says it was syndicated as Free Zone to several papers and appeared in the SF Chronicle under this title - thanks Winthrop!)
Private Stuff, 1953, Jack O'Brien, Editors Syndicate, daily panel (found, but only in military base paper The Hilltop Herald -- still unfound in a mainstream paper)
Professor Naturebug, 1971, John Hazlett and Edward Thomas, Dispatch Features, Sunday strip (found in Columbus Dispatch, but very text heavy and doesn't qualify)
Professor Pi, 1959-72, V.T.Born, Douglas Whiting, daily strip (Dutch - appeared in U.S.?)
Professor Unquote, 1948, Bill Henry, Globe Syndicate, daily strip
Proven Proverbs, 1962, Bill Zaboly and William Davy, Select Features, daily panel
Pud, 1989-98, Steven Nease, Southam Syndicate/Liberty Features, daily strip (Canadian - appeared in U.S.?)
Punch Line, 1975-78, Palbo, Community Press Service, weekly panel
Punchline, 1995-96, Tim Newlin, self-syndicated, Sunday strip
Punchy and Judy, 1945, Loy Byrnes, NY Post, daily strip (found! in NY Post)
Puzzy, 1953, Jack Fitch, Editors Syndicate, daily panel
Labels: Mystery Strips
Comments:
Allan, in the case of more recent features, is it very useful to approach the cartoonists themselves? For instance, The PO Box's Earl T. Musick lives in Ohio, apparently in the same town he did when he worked on his strip. Since he self-syndicated, he would have a better idea of which newspaper ran his feature. Or do you find that actually trying to contact people doesn't turn out very well?
Hi Hugo -
When I can find someone on the web who seems to be the author of a mystery strip I do email them with questions. Its a hit and miss proposition. Out of the 'P' batch I did email Earl Musick (no response yet) and found a websites for Tim Newlin and Jim Pera but with no email links. Winthrop Prince has a Facebook page but I'm not a member and am not keen on becoming one.
--Allan
When I can find someone on the web who seems to be the author of a mystery strip I do email them with questions. Its a hit and miss proposition. Out of the 'P' batch I did email Earl Musick (no response yet) and found a websites for Tim Newlin and Jim Pera but with no email links. Winthrop Prince has a Facebook page but I'm not a member and am not keen on becoming one.
--Allan
Winthrop Prince also has a web page with an e-mail link at princeillustration.com if you think it's worth a try.
Oh, PILOOT STORM did exist. I was a big fan of the French language translation PILOTE TEMPETE back in the 60s in LE SOLEIL newspaper. Haven't had much luck tracking it down since, though.
norichan01@gmail.com
norichan01@gmail.com
# posted by : 8/15/2009 9:34 PM
: 8/15/2009 9:34 PM
I just saw this, but Piloot Storm did indeed exist. It has recently been republished by Dutch publisher Boumaar (http://www.boumaar.com/). This website tell that Storm was distributed through Swan Syndicate, who did a lot of bussiness in Europe. But maybe abroad as well? http://home.planet.nl/~staten/sprenger.htm
re: Pollutocrats, 1972, Larkin and Gordon
Gordon Larkin has passed away.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/examiner-enterprise/obituary.aspx?n=Gordon-Larkin&pid=163648087
From the above obituary: "In the early 1970's he drew the enviromentally themed, syndicated cartoon strip, The Pollut-o-crats, with his brother Mark."
There is a sample of the panel on his Facebook page with a printed credit of "by the Larkin brothers" while Gordon Larkin signed the panel GOLARK.
The creators of the panel were Gordon Larkin and his brother Mark Larkin.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any instance of it appearing in a newspaper, though the obituary says "It ran in 20 newspapers nationwide for 5 years."
D.D.Degg
Gordon Larkin has passed away.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/examiner-enterprise/obituary.aspx?n=Gordon-Larkin&pid=163648087
From the above obituary: "In the early 1970's he drew the enviromentally themed, syndicated cartoon strip, The Pollut-o-crats, with his brother Mark."
There is a sample of the panel on his Facebook page with a printed credit of "by the Larkin brothers" while Gordon Larkin signed the panel GOLARK.
The creators of the panel were Gordon Larkin and his brother Mark Larkin.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any instance of it appearing in a newspaper, though the obituary says "It ran in 20 newspapers nationwide for 5 years."
D.D.Degg
I remember seeing Pig Newton as a voting candidate for am August 1983 Stamford (CT.) Advocate comics voting poll. It was a candidate with 4 other new comics, but didn't make the cut.
I have a Mostly Male, Easter with Phillip's Flock by Doc Goodwin that has a paste-on for the Columbus Dispatch Tab, March 29, 1970, with a second strip "Bascomb" drawn below. Working my way through the Art Wood Collection alphabetically, now up to Goodwin!
Sara Duke
Curator, Popular & Applied Graphic Art
Prints & Photographs Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4730
sduk@loc.gov
Sara Duke
Curator, Popular & Applied Graphic Art
Prints & Photographs Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4730
sduk@loc.gov
# posted by : 12/21/2015 8:17 AM
: 12/21/2015 8:17 AM
Hmm. So it sounds like Philip's Flock may have just been a recurring feature within the Mostly Male Sunday page. I'll take it under advisement, and hopefully I'll get to look at the Columbus Dispatch microfilm one of these days. Thanks Sara!
--Allan
--Allan
Hey Allan,
Poor Little Rich Man, 1948, Courtney Dunkel, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel
It is no longer unknown!. Michael J. Vassallo in his The New York Sunday News Comics History Group on Facebook posted an appearance of this strip appearing on August 16, 1948, in the New York Daily News. He states the only other instance he has seen it appear was a May 15, 1949 Sunday News comic section.
FYI
-Ray Bottorff Jr
Poor Little Rich Man, 1948, Courtney Dunkel, Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, daily panel
It is no longer unknown!. Michael J. Vassallo in his The New York Sunday News Comics History Group on Facebook posted an appearance of this strip appearing on August 16, 1948, in the New York Daily News. He states the only other instance he has seen it appear was a May 15, 1949 Sunday News comic section.
FYI
-Ray Bottorff Jr
Thanks Ray, for some reason I don't have acces to that Facebook page, but I was able to find the strip at newspapers.com. It does appear that the Sunday was a one-shot filler, and the daily ran January - September 1948.
--Allan
--Allan
Hi Allan,
Since Vassallo's The New York Sunday News Comics History Group on Facebook is a private group, you would need to submit to join the group (I am sure he would approve you in a heartbeat).
Speaking of Michael, he recently stumbled across a brand new comic strip not previously know per your book and Ger Apeldoorn:
Pee Wee by Ray Bailey, appeared in the New York Sunday News only twice known, 25 December 1938 and 1 January 1939. It is listed as being syndicated by Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, so it might have made appearances in the Chicago Tribune at some point. I checked Newspapers.com and confirmed it was there in the NY News too in the main edition.
my best
-Ray
Since Vassallo's The New York Sunday News Comics History Group on Facebook is a private group, you would need to submit to join the group (I am sure he would approve you in a heartbeat).
Speaking of Michael, he recently stumbled across a brand new comic strip not previously know per your book and Ger Apeldoorn:
Pee Wee by Ray Bailey, appeared in the New York Sunday News only twice known, 25 December 1938 and 1 January 1939. It is listed as being syndicated by Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, so it might have made appearances in the Chicago Tribune at some point. I checked Newspapers.com and confirmed it was there in the NY News too in the main edition.
my best
-Ray
Thanks for the info on Pee Wee, Ray. I'm not on FB, so sadly I have no access to Vassallo's very interesting sounding work there.
--Allan
--Allan
There are multiple pages dealing with comic book and comic strip history on Facebook, including Michael's work. One can join Facebook just to join those lists only and receive its content. You do not have to do any of the rest if you do not want to. FYI.
my best
-Ray Bottorff Jr
my best
-Ray Bottorff Jr
Hello Allan-
Here's an odd "P"one- "PICKLES" by L. V. Keegan Jnr. Syndicate line:
(Copyright 1921 by L. V. Keegan)Seen in two issues of the News-Dispatch, (Endicott, NY)) 4 Aug 21 & 8 Sep 21. No idea when it starts or stops, or even if it's a daily. It's daily sized.
"Pickles" is a black cariciture character that trades wisecracks with customers at his grocery store. Keegan is a very mediocre cartoonist, and obviously this is a self-synicated series.
Here's an odd "P"one- "PICKLES" by L. V. Keegan Jnr. Syndicate line:
(Copyright 1921 by L. V. Keegan)Seen in two issues of the News-Dispatch, (Endicott, NY)) 4 Aug 21 & 8 Sep 21. No idea when it starts or stops, or even if it's a daily. It's daily sized.
"Pickles" is a black cariciture character that trades wisecracks with customers at his grocery store. Keegan is a very mediocre cartoonist, and obviously this is a self-synicated series.
# posted by : 10/06/2021 11:36 PM
: 10/06/2021 11:36 PM
I find Pickles starting earliest on 5/9/21, and the strip was sometimes numbered, seeming to end at #60. It was sold (or given) to weeklies as well as dailies and was often printed late and out of order.
Thanks for putting me on the case of this one Mark!
--Allan
Thanks for putting me on the case of this one Mark!
--Allan
Hello Allan,
While combing through the lists here, I ran into a daily comic strip that appeared in numerous smaller newspapers from the WNU Service from 1936 to 1949, a total of 2,286 Matches on Newspapers.com, here are the search results:
https://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=%22Peter+B.+Peeve%22&dr_year=1935-1950&sort=facet_year_month_day+desc%2C+score+desc
Newest example is from June 13, 1949:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91018520/peter-b-peeve/
Oldest example is from Thursday, September 3, 1936:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91018617/peter-b-peeve/
my best
-Ray Bottorff Jr
While combing through the lists here, I ran into a daily comic strip that appeared in numerous smaller newspapers from the WNU Service from 1936 to 1949, a total of 2,286 Matches on Newspapers.com, here are the search results:
https://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=%22Peter+B.+Peeve%22&dr_year=1935-1950&sort=facet_year_month_day+desc%2C+score+desc
Newest example is from June 13, 1949:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91018520/peter-b-peeve/
Oldest example is from Thursday, September 3, 1936:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91018617/peter-b-peeve/
my best
-Ray Bottorff Jr
Peter B. Peeve is an alternate title for Magnus Kettner's cartoons, though somehow that title didn't make it into the book. The 1949 appearance is a red herring I think, that paper did not seem to be subscribing to WNU. As best I can tell Kettner's multi-titled cartoon series ended sometime in 1947.
--Allan
--Allan
Here's one I spotted in the dear old Pittsburgh Press:
Polly Pippen by Hugh Chenoweth, Publisher's Syndicate. It's a highly average Blondie knockoff. It's debut was definately 3 May 1943, and it's demise was sometime between 20 May and 7 July 1944, where we find the Press had replaced it with yet another of the same, Dotty Dripple.
Someone has raided the WWII issues in the online Press files, but I found it ran as late as 9 June 1944 in Brooklyn Eagle.The artwork by then does not look like Chenoweth, and it's unsigned.
Polly Pippen by Hugh Chenoweth, Publisher's Syndicate. It's a highly average Blondie knockoff. It's debut was definately 3 May 1943, and it's demise was sometime between 20 May and 7 July 1944, where we find the Press had replaced it with yet another of the same, Dotty Dripple.
Someone has raided the WWII issues in the online Press files, but I found it ran as late as 9 June 1944 in Brooklyn Eagle.The artwork by then does not look like Chenoweth, and it's unsigned.
# posted by : 5/20/2022 12:10 AM
: 5/20/2022 12:10 AM
My end date on Polly Pippen is 6/24/44 based on the Oakland Tribune; the strip was replaced then on the Publishers roster by Dotty Dripple. There was a Sunday, too.
I found "Pee Wee's Pencil" running in The Charlotte News, although they only ran them on Saturdays in the comics section. Again, seems to be an activity comic. Here are samples
https://imgur.com/a/5PXnvV5
https://imgur.com/a/5PXnvV5
I found "Ponder This" in New York Daily News. It's actually a text feature, not a comic. Here are some samples: https://imgur.com/a/J8HFBAe
I found "Patterson's People" running in The Record (Hackensack, NJ). First spotted in the paper on September 10, 1968. The latest is August 17, 1969 https://imgur.com/a/tZZVKye
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Monday, March 17, 2008
Obscurity of the Day: Wimpy's Zoo's Who
I'm utterly fascinated by toppers (those companion features that accompany Sunday strips), and the odder the better. Here's a pretty nifty one titled Wimpy's Zoo's Who. This panel, sort of a topper to a topper, accompanied the main companion strip Sappo to the 'main event' Thimble Theatre (better known as Popeye to the hoi polloi).This little activity panel featured oddball beastie designs that could be cut out and made into 3-D figures. I bet these fearsome creatures terrorized their share of army men on the living room floor in their day.
Wimpy's Zoo's Who is from a period when toppers were beginning to fall into disuse. After the topper's glory days in the 20s to mid-30s, Sunday sections began to feature more ads and half page strips. These came at the expense of toppers, and they get scarcer and scarcer until many become rare finds by the 40s.
You'll hear historians say that the topper strip was a victim of World War II paper shortages. Don't believe a word of it -- it's the ads that killed full page strips, and that killed the topper. World War II only exacerbated an already bad situation.
Wimpy's Zoo's Who started accompanying Thimble Theatre on November 20 1938 and was replaced by a different panel feature, Play-Store, after December 1 1940. The topper was only included when Thimble Theatre was printed as a full, the tab version didn't include toppers at all.
Doc Winner probably handled the art chores at the beginning and then was replaced by Bela Zaboly sometime in 1939. After Segar's run on the strip ended Thimble Theatre was unsigned until the end of 1939, so exact dates for the artists are unknown.
EDIT: Cole Johnson, whose noggin apparently doesn't leak like a sieve as does mine, reminds me that Bud Sagendorf claimed in "Popeye - The First 50 Years" that he, along with writer Joe Musial, did all the activity panels starting with Wiggle Line Movie (the predecessor of Wimpy's Zoo's Who). Thanks for setting me back on the straight and narrow Cole! You're my very own brain spam filter!
Labels: Obscurities
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Ink-Slinger Profiles: Jay Irving
The 1910 U.S. Federal Census recorded him in the Bronx, New York at 858 Kelly Street. He was the oldest of three children born to Abraham and Sarah. His father was a lieutenant in the police department. The U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958, at Ancestry.com, said he enlisted November 26, 1917; his name was recorded as “Irv J. Rafsky.” He was in Company “I”, and stationed at the Marine Barracks, Paris Island, South Carolina. In March 1918, he was assigned to the 135th Company, 11th Regiment, U.S. Marines, and stationed at the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia. The following two months he was with the Anti-Aircraft Battalion.
The 1920 census said he lived, with his parents and siblings, in Manhattan, New York City at 450 West 149th Street. His occupation was animation cartoonist. Maybe he worked at the Bray Studios. His father was an insurance agent. In the World Encyclopedia of Comics, Maurice Horn wrote: “…After studies at Columbia University, Jay Irving shifted from one newspaper job to another, then became police reporter for the New York Globe, and later a sports cartoonist. After a stint with the Universal wire service, Irving created a sports strip for King Features Syndicate, Bozo Blimp (1930), which sank with hardly a trace.” Another source said Bozo Blimp was created in 1923. An advertisement, above, for the strip appeared in the June 1921 issue of Circulation. [Allan's note: I have not been able to find this feature running in any newspaper - does anyone have proof that it ever actually appeared?]
“Irv Jay Rafsky” was the name recorded in the 1930 census. He lived in Manhattan, at 214 West 91st Street. He married Dorothy when he was 23. He was a manager at an advertising agency. Rob Stolzer, in his profile of Irving, said: “…Irving was also married. He and Dorothy Prago, the daughter of restaurateur Willie Prago, were secretly engaged; then secretly married. Their son Clifford was born to them in November 1930….” Stolzer also said he drew a week of George Herriman’s Embarrassing Moments panel, and some panels of Billy DeBeck’s Bughouse Fables. A New York City Directory 1931 listed him at 160 Riverside Drive. Horn said he joined Collier's Weekly, in 1932, and stayed for 13 years. He did a weekly panel, Collier's Cops, and a few covers. Time magazine, February 21, 1972, said Irving, “…changed the family name from Rafsky in the mid-’30s…”
Edwardsville Intelligencer (Illinois) 12/17/1938
A passenger list recorded Irving and his family departing from Los Angeles, February 16, 1940, and arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii on the 21st. They left on March 15 and arrived on the mainland on the 20th. They returned to New York City in time to be counted in the 1940 census. They lived at 498 West End Avenue and Irving was a salesman, who had four years of high school. The Manhattan Directory 1942 had this listing: “Irving Jay 650 W End Av EN dicot 2-4433.” Ron Goulart, in The Funnies (1995), said: “…Jay Irving had a lifelong fascination with the police. His Willie Doodle, introduced in 1946, was one of the features he drew about an amiable but dumb beat cop….” In Clifford Irving: What Really Happened (1972), Irving's son wrote: “In the mid-1940s, as an art student at the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, I had helped my father with the lettering on his comic strips, 'Willie Doodle' and ‘Pottsy….’ ”
4/20/1967; courtesy of Heritage Auctions
Later, he was a regular on the short-lived 1949 TV show, Draw Me a Laugh, which aired from January 15 to February 5. The show was conceived by Irving and Mel Casson. Their first guest cartoonist was Bela “Bill” Zaboly, according to the New York Times, January 14, 1949. The January 22 guest was Gus Edson; Stolzer’s profile has copy of the newspaper advertisement. The Brooklyn Eagle listed Bill Holman as the January 29 guest, and Hilda Terry and Gregory D’Alessio as the February 5 guests. Billboard, February 12, 1949, reviewed the January 29 show:
Draw Me a Laugh runs about 10 minutes too long, a common failing among cartoon teleshows, and impresses, if properly trimmed, as being a salable property. It has a multiplicity of gimmicks, many of which show considerable inventiveness, and it has certainly come up with something new in the use of a quick-rhyming balladeer to cue in some of the other gimmicks, including the prizes awarded to viewer-contestants. The folk-singer, Oscar Brand, does a capital job, adding considerably to the show’s enjoyment.
The basic gimmick is a contest wherein viewers submit gag lines and cartoon ideas to match. These are quick-sketched by Mel Casson, with a guest cartoonist competing. The latter is given only the gag line and has to come up with his own sketch, a panel of four of the studio audience picking the cartoon they think the better of the two. Other gimmicks include a blindfold cartoon bit by Jay Irving, with Casson a regular on the show; impressions drawn by Casson and guester Bill Holman of a man described to them by Irving, but whom they are unable to see, and a doodle drawing bit by Casson. It’s just this excess of bits which detracts from the show’s total impact. Anyhow, it’s about time that the formal 15-minute and half-hour pattern adapted from radio be given the heave-ho; here is a perfect instance where that credo is hurting a show that's too good to waste.
According to Stolzer, Irving and Casson produced another show, You Be the Judge, for ABC, which ran for 13 weeks.
Draw Me a Laugh runs about 10 minutes too long, a common failing among cartoon teleshows, and impresses, if properly trimmed, as being a salable property. It has a multiplicity of gimmicks, many of which show considerable inventiveness, and it has certainly come up with something new in the use of a quick-rhyming balladeer to cue in some of the other gimmicks, including the prizes awarded to viewer-contestants. The folk-singer, Oscar Brand, does a capital job, adding considerably to the show’s enjoyment.
The basic gimmick is a contest wherein viewers submit gag lines and cartoon ideas to match. These are quick-sketched by Mel Casson, with a guest cartoonist competing. The latter is given only the gag line and has to come up with his own sketch, a panel of four of the studio audience picking the cartoon they think the better of the two. Other gimmicks include a blindfold cartoon bit by Jay Irving, with Casson a regular on the show; impressions drawn by Casson and guester Bill Holman of a man described to them by Irving, but whom they are unable to see, and a doodle drawing bit by Casson. It’s just this excess of bits which detracts from the show’s total impact. Anyhow, it’s about time that the formal 15-minute and half-hour pattern adapted from radio be given the heave-ho; here is a perfect instance where that credo is hurting a show that's too good to waste.
Brooklyn Eagle 1/29/1949
Brooklyn Eagle 2/5/1949
His next and final strip was Pottsy which began in May 1955. Stolzer explained the title of the strip:
The title character’s name was derived from New York City police history. From 1889 until 1898, New York City police officers wore square badges that resembled the metal playing pieces of a popular Brooklyn variety of hopscotch called Potsy. The potsy was a piece of metal cut from a tin can, which was folded, then flattened with the heel. It was folded and flattened again until square in shape. The potsy would be tossed into the playing area, where it would be kicked from one square to the next. Because of the resemblance to the police badges, police of that era were nicknamed Potsies, a term they thought disparaging.…
A 1980 issue of Cartoonist Profiles had this anecdote:
Jay Irving, who specialized in cop gags, drew covers for Collier’s, was a top magazine gag artist and drew a Sunday page, “Potsy” [sic], for the N.Y. Sunday News. Jay was the father of Clifford Irving, the writer who put over the hoax biog of Howard Hughes.
But what the members of the Nat’l. Cartoonists Society remember Jay for was his overwork of the phrase “the body politic.” He liked to speak at meetings…“If it please the body politic”; “I appeal to the body politic.”
It was Otto Soglow who rose to rebut Jay.
“Kiss the body politic’s ass,” said Otto. (And the motion was seconded unanimously.)
On June 17, 1959, he was interviewed on the Jack Paar Show, according to the Oregonian of the same date. Stolzer said that in 1962 “…Irving was approached to write a 70-page chapter on the history of American comic strips….” for the Italian publisher, Aldo Garzanti Editore, whose book was titled, International History of the Comic Strips. The book was never published and Irving’s manuscript disappeared. He continued producing Pottsy.
Irving passed away June 3, 1970 according to the New York Times. The World Encyclopedia of Comics said he died June 5, while Wikipedia and other sources have the date June 4. The Times obituary was published Friday, June 5, and the first sentence said: “Jay Irving, originator of the comic strip ‘Pottsy,’ died Wednesday, apparently of a heart attack, in his home at 650 West End Avenue.”
Stolzer’s in-depth profile is at Hogan’s Alley.
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
I have just been looking at about a lot of pages from the early forties that had Irving's chaming cop strip... and found only two worth scanning.
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