Stripper's Guide

Pretty much anything R.F. Outcault produced is worth an extended look, even one of his more obscure series. With dozens of gags and bits of funny business shoehorned into each installment, Kelly's Kindergarten is definitely a series that rewards long and leisurely study. Luckily, Cole Johnson sent me a treasure trove of examples of this series, so we will depart in this case from our usual custom of running just a few samples. Over the next couple weeks we'll run Kelly's Kindergarten as a weekday feature of the blog. 

Outcault's stardom began in the Sunday funnies of the New York World in 1895 with the Hogan's Alley pages, but as most any comics fan knows, not much more than a year later he was was lured away by Hearst. What is less well known is that Outcault continued bouncing around from paper to paper, ending up back at the New York World in the period 1898-1900. Kelly's Kindergarten was produced during this second act at the World. 

The series brings Outcault back to the subject that brought him fame -- depicting the raucous lives of New York City tenement kids. The series began on October 16 1898 and was initially set in the classroom though that would eventually become too confining for Outcault. The first installment (above) introduces us to some of Outcault's new characters. He would add to the cast throughout the series, coming up with some truly bizarre ones along the way, like the kids whose faces spell out their names. There will also be a character who refers back to Outcault's original superstar.

Kelly's Kindergarten, later Kelly's Kids, would run until August 6 1899, and Cole has supplied us with the first and last episodes, and lots in between. So keep reading, and enjoy!

Labels: Obscurities

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 3 comments

Teacher certainly didn't age well since last week, and who could blame her?

Kelly's Kindergarten was essentially a rehash of a series that Outcault had created for the Philadelphia Inquirer, called The Country School. Even a few of the characters are re-used, like the kid with the bandages on his head.

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 1 comments

By April 1899 we've had some changes. First, the (unofficial) title of the feature is no longer Kelly's Kindergarten; it is now The Kelly Kids, or in some instances, Kelly's Kid. The Kelly Kid is the infant on stilts in the center of the panel; he is the first-born son of Michael Kelly, a big man in the neighbourhood. He'll gain a new name in the next installment...

Note also the addition of the 'name face kids', a really bizarre set of characters. When all together, they number four -- Anna, Ada,Otto and Bob. Maybe they should be called the Palindrome Kids.

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 1 comments

The teacher has been banished! What a lovely Christmas present for the kindergartners. From now on in the series, school is no more than a cozy spot to rest in between outings.

The telegram delivering kid will become a new regular addition to the cast. Cole's samples take a long hiatus now, see you tomorrow four months later!

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 2 comments

Outcault gets the jump on Christmas, and the kindergartners selflessly sacrifice their Sunday to visiting the teacher at home.

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 0 comments

Teacher #3 looks like a real pushover to me. I predict a trip the emergency room is in his near future. 

By the way, surely yesterday someone identified the masthead cartoons as the work of George B. Luks?

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 1 comments

The new teacher has arrived, and he has smartly outfitted himself with a pistol and shotgun. Perhaps he will succeed in taming these wild animals.

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 0 comments

Notice those great little cartoons in the masthead, signed GBL? First person to identify the cartoonist gets 100 internet points.

# posted by Allan Holtz @ 6:00 AM 4 comments