Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Obscurity of the Day: Nero Wolfe
Columbia Features was a small outfit that is memorable mostly for their strips featuring licensed characters. Here's Nero Wolfe, a corpulent detective created by noted mystery writer Rex Stout in 1934. Wolfe, along with his legman Archie Goodwin, were featured in a long series of popular novels and short stories that kept Stout busy at the typewriter for the rest of his life.The comic strip adaptation, despite being well-drawn, had no such popularity or longevity. The daily and Sunday strip debuted at the end of November 1956 and managed to stay afloat for less than a year and a half. For such a short-lived strip it had a tumultuous history.
I haven't come across a good enough run of Sundays to give a full accounting, but here's what I can offer:
Dailies
Mike Roy: 11/26/56 - 7/6/57
Pete Hoffman: 7/8/57 (signed fill-in strip)
Unsigned: 7/9 - 7/13/57 (does not appear to be any of the other artists)
Fran Matera: 7/15 - 8/24/57
Ed Herron and Jim Christiansen: 8/26/57 - 3/1/58
Sundays
Mike Roy: 11/?/56 (probably 11/25) - 7/?/57 (at least thru 7/13)
Fran Matera: 7/? (7/20 or 7/27) -9/1/57
Ed Herron and Jim Christiansen: 9/8/57 - 2/23/58
Note that Ed Herron, who may have been handling the writing chores from the beginning of the strip, didn't get credit until Christiansen came on board. Mike Roy recalled, however, that John Broome did the uncredited writing, and was replaced by Ed Herron. He also said that Mike Peppe did inking on the series (during Roy's tenure only I presume).
Although the series sputtered out quickly, Columbia continued advertising its availability until 1972 in Editor & Publisher (Columbia did this with most of their features). I am not aware of any newspaper that picked up this strip for a late appearance.
Here's a site that discusses the comic strip and reproduces more examples.
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
One thing that's rather odd about the story that you excerpt: Wolfe was notorious in the books for refusing to leave his brownstone, and very little could induce him to so leave. Usually, it was Archie that did the legwork. Yet here is Wolfe, in the fresh air, no less. Curious.
I have put up a couple of Sundays from mid 1957 that seem to have been pencilled or lay-out by Mike Sekowsky.
I read this story decades ago and remember it well (Birdie Lee's character is unforgetable) and the reason why Wolfe is at the ship has nothing to do with the crime, and he is held there until the stolen jewel is retrieved.
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# posted by 
: 3/31/2015 7:17 AM
: 3/31/2015 7:17 AM Monday, February 05, 2024
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Lawrence Nadle
Lawrence Malcolm Nadle was born on September 29, 1913, in Manhattan, New York, New York, according to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com and his World War II draft card which had his full name. Nadle was occasionally misspelled Nadel.
Nadle’s paternal grandfather, Julius Nadle, submitted a naturalization petition, dated August 11, 1900 (at Ancestry.com). The petition said he was born on August 26, 1859 in Russia. On August 1, 1887, he arrived in New York City. Julius was naturalized on August 22, 1900.
The 1900 United States Census recorded Julius (a tailor), his wife, Johannah, and three sons, Joseph (age 15; Nadle’s father), Alexander (age 8) and Henry (age 6), in Manhattan at 242 East Houston Street.
The same address was in the 1905 New York state census. Joseph was a salesman.
On February 8, 1910, Joseph and Anna Gerler obtained, in Manhattan, marriage license number 3680. They married on February 15, 1910.
The 1910 census counted the couple in Manhattan at 202 East Seventh Street. Joseph was a ribbon salesman.
The 1915 New York state census said one-year-old Nadle, his parents and four-year-old brother, Martin, were Manhattan residents at 1968 Seventh Avenue. His father was a ribbon buyer.
On September 12, 1918, Nadle’s father signed his World War I draft card. His address was 3 West 116th Street in Manhattan.
The same address was on the 1920 census. In the household were Nadle (age 6), his parents, and brothers, Martin (age 9) and Henry (age 2).
In Alter Ego #72, September 2007, Nadle’s son, Ken, wrote about his father and two uncles, Martin and Henry.
... Larry distinguished himself as being a good writer when he was just nine. He won a story-writing contest and had his picture in the newspaper. He never went to college. Instead, he teamed up with his best friend, Jack Arnold (who later directed the movies The Mouse That Roared and The Creature from the Black Lagoon), and they performed an acrobatic/tap dance/comic routine in vaudeville. ...
In the 1925 New York state census, the Nadle family were Bronx residents at 643 Southern Boulevard. Nadle’s sister, Jean, was a year old.
The 1930 census said the Nadle family lived in the Bronx at 2105 Walton Avenue. Nadle’s brother, Martin, was a newspaper cartoonist. The name of Nadle’s high school is not known.
Nadle’s father passed away on October 9, 1935.
Around 1932, Nadle married Sylvia Resnikoff (1914–1998).
According to the 1940 census, Nadle, his wife and four-year-old son, Bruce, were Bronx residents at 2819 Morris Avenue. Nadle was manager of retail men’s clothing store. He had four years of high school and earned $2,150 in 1939.
On October 16, 1940, Nadle signed his World War II draft card. His address was updated from 2819 Morris Avenue to 521 West 112th Street. His employer was H. Lowenthal, 114 East Fordham Road in the Bronx. Nadle’s description was five feet nine inches, 180 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.
Ken Nadle said
... it was also Martin who opened the door for Larry to get some writing assignments with King Features Syndicate. ...
In the mid-1940s Nadle entered the comic book field at National Comics.
Nadle was mentioned in The Exhibitor, March 9, 1949.
The other day. Paramount’s Sid Mesibov, company promotion director, asked if we wouldn’t like to look at a comic book. We agreed to witness the latest in the field, “Miss Beverly Hills,” which has to do with a non-existent girl and her adventures in Hollywood, on the motion picture sets, on location, etc. We weren’t very surprised to see that Alan Ladd and his latest release, “Whispering Smith,” had received more than a fair share of publicity in the first issue. Forthcoming issues also are to feature Paramount and its stars.After laying the preliminary groundwork, we were whisked over to the editorial offices of the National Comics Publications, where, after bowing three times in the direction of a huge oil portrait of “Superman,” we were introduced to Larry Nadle, editor, “Miss Beverly Hills,” and others of the 30 different books put out by the organization, which has a circulation of some 60 million people. He told us how well the initial combination of a fan magazine plus a comic book had been received by some million readers, and we read a portion of the 4,000 letters received from readers from 8 to 50. Especially commendable were those which praised the book for providing proper reading for all audiences, and for the way that Hollywood was treated.Paramount thinks that much value for the company, its films, stars, and, finally, for exhibitors, can be gained through this promotion, and we agree. Some gal, that “Beverly Hills.”
The 1950 census counted Nadle, his wife, and two sons, Bruce and Kenneth, in New York City at 45 Park Terrace West. Nadle was an editor and writer at a publishing company.
Editor & Publisher, November 22, 1952, reported the upcoming I Love Lucy gag-a-day comic strip from King Features Syndicate. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Nadle and Bob Oksner teamed up, under the pseudonym Bob Lawrence, to produce the I Love Lucy comic series which ran from December 8, 1952 to June 4, 1955. Editor & Publisher, January 24, 1953, said the series incorporated the real-life birth of Lucy’s son.
The Nero Wolfe comic strip ran from November 26, 1956 to July 13, 1957. In American Newspaper Comics, Alberto Becattini said Nadle wrote three weeks of the series. Ken Nadle said
... But if there was one thing he did that most impressed me, it was ghosting the syndicated strip Nero Wolfe. The creator of the famous detective character was also impressed. I have a letter from Rex Stout to my father stating, “Today I received the text for the 6th, 7th, and 8th weeks of the third daily sequence, have read and enjoyed it...”
Art Direction, June 1957, identified the people involved with the School of Industrial Art’s new location. The group included “Sol Harrison, Natl. Comics Publications”, “Lawrence Nadel, art editor Superman DC Comics” and “Arthur Weiss, Terrytoons”.
Nadle passed away on December 26, 1963, in Lynbrook, New York according to the obituary in Newsday, December 27, 1963. He was survived by his wife, three sons, mother, and siblings Martin and Jean. The New York Times printed an obituary on December 28.
Nadle was laid to rest at New Montefiore Cemetery. (Find a Grave has the wrong date.)
Further Reading
Grand Comics Database, Larry Nadle and Lawrence Nadle
Todd’s Blog, The DC Comics Offices 1930s–1950s Part 2, DC Comics’ 1945 Christmas Party photograph includes Martin and Larry Nadle
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
Thanks for researching and writing this. What a terrible shame he died so young; his career really seemed to be thriving.
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Tuesday, April 05, 2016
Obscurity of the Day: Smokey the Bear
Smokey the bear, a marketing icon for forest fire prevention, was picked up for the comic strip treatment by Columbia Features, a syndicate of the 1950s and 60s that often promoted licensed character strips to newspapers.
Columbia had (in my opinion) a flawed business model that put too many hands in the cookie jar. Until a newspaper strip is really, really popular, the money just isn't there to pay licensees on top of what the syndicate and creator(s) need to earn. Columbia never had a really major hit on their hands, and so licensing never paid off for them.
Smokey the Bear was probably Columbia's biggest licensed success, but only in comparison to the truly anemic sales of Nero Wolfe and Bat Masterson. Since the character of Smokey the Bear doesn't really come with any iron-clad plot background, the syndicate was basically free to come up with a plot from scratch. This they chose not to do. What they did was copy Mark Trail whole cloth. They made Smokey a park ranger (okay, that's a given) and had the daily strip tell light adventure stories involving forestry, ecology and wildlife. Sundays were reserved for educational one-shot subjects. The Sundays even include a cut-out feature, called Smokey Says, to mimic Mark Trail's Trailways.
There was no brainstorming involved in how the strip would look or its characters, because those had already been established in a few comic book appearances iin Dell's Four Color series. Just like in the comic books, Smokey gained a kid, Little Smokey, for the strip, but no better half to explain Little Smokey's existence, at least that I've encountered. There's also a raccoon, Specs, to round out the cast. Not having seen much of the very rare daily version, I don't know if humans ever figured into the stories, but they seem to have never appeared in the Sunday.
Though the strip is credited to one 'Wes Wood', I'm assured that the strip was actually written by Paul S. Newman and cartoonist Mo Gollub, the folks who had also created his comic book adventures.
The Sunday strip debut was on June 16 1957, the daily following the next day. At the end of May 1959 the syndicate changed to Adcox-Lenahan Associates. James Lenahan was the founder of Columbia Features, but he got together with Glenn Adcox in December 1958 to form this new syndicate; why the strip moved there is a mystery, unless Lenahan perhaps cut ties with Columbia at that time. Unfortunately I don't have the inside scoop on that.
The latest strip I've been able to find is the final Sunday of 1959 (December 27), and I don't know if it survived into 1960 **. I do know that the feature was not advertised in the 1960 E&P yearbook, so it apparently didn't last long into the new decade.
** Jeffrey Lindenblatt has found the end of the series in the Des Moines Register, March 26, 1960. Here is the final daily:
Labels: Obscurities
Comments:
I had completely forgotten about this strip. It ran in my local paper (Vancouver Sun) when I was a kid. I found it dull, but read it dutifully, thinking maybe I should learn this stuff. I'm still waiting to use my acquired knowledge.
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Thursday, May 19, 2016
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Mike Roy
Mike Roy was born Joseph Michel Grenier in Montreal, Canada, on January 22, 1921. Roy’s birthplace was on his Social Security application and his birth name was recorded on a list of aliens traveling from Canada to the United States. Roy was accompanied by his parents, Napoleon and Marie Anne Grenier. On October 24, 1923, the family entered the U.S. at Island Pond, Vermont, and were headed for Lisbon, Maine.
Joseph Michel Grenier on line 5
Before Roy’s emigration, the 1921 census of Canada recorded five-month-old Roy as “Joseph Mickel Greiner”. The spelling was the work of the enumerator. Roy and his parents, Napoleon, 32, and Marie Anne, 26, lived in St-Isidore, Dorchester, Quebec.
The 1930 U.S. Federal Census recorded Roy’s parents in Lewiston, Maine. His father was a carpenter. Roy was not in his parents’ household. According to the census, there was a “Michel Grenier”, about the same age, who lived at the orphanage, Healy Asylum, in Lewiston.
The 1940 census listed Roy in the Bronx, New York City, at 560 Eagle Avenue. His mother was the half-sister of Adjutor J. Roy, a French Canadian who was the head of the household and employed as a railroad ticket agent. In the census, “Michael Roy” was an adopted son and cartoonist who, at the time, had completed three years of high school. All three had been at the same location since 1935. The status of Roy’s biological father is not known.
The 1930 U.S. Federal Census recorded Roy’s parents in Lewiston, Maine. His father was a carpenter. Roy was not in his parents’ household. According to the census, there was a “Michel Grenier”, about the same age, who lived at the orphanage, Healy Asylum, in Lewiston.
The 1940 census listed Roy in the Bronx, New York City, at 560 Eagle Avenue. His mother was the half-sister of Adjutor J. Roy, a French Canadian who was the head of the household and employed as a railroad ticket agent. In the census, “Michael Roy” was an adopted son and cartoonist who, at the time, had completed three years of high school. All three had been at the same location since 1935. The status of Roy’s biological father is not known.
Michael Roy on line 21
Dr. Michael J. Vassallo interviewed artist Allen Bellman who remembered Roy.
During World War II, Roy, under the name Joseph M. Roy, enlisted in the army on December 4, 1942. His occupation was commercial artist who had three years of college. According to Who’s Who, Roy attended Pratt Institute. The Washington Post said Roy was a paratrooper in the D-Day invasion of Normandy where he was wounded twice. Later, French-speaking Roy was an Army interpreter in France and Belgium. Roy was discharged December 6, 1945.
Roy’s step-father also registered for the draft. Adjutor was 45 years old and resided, with his half-sister, at 572 Eagle Avenue, the Bronx. Adjutor was employed at the New York City Rapid Transit Company. After the war, Adjutor became a naturalized citizen on May 2, 1949.
Around 1947, Roy married Adrienne Louise Mootafian (1923–2009). She should not be confused with Adrienne Roy (1953–2010) the comic book colorist.
The Post said Roy moved, in 1950, to Washington, DC where he worked with the U.S. Information Agency.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Leslie Charteris’s character, The Saint, was adapted as a comic strip. Roy drew the strip from September 27, 1948 to October 13, 1951. From time to time, Roy had inking assists by John Belfi, Sam Burlockoff and Jack Davis*. Roy ghosted the strip, Ken Winston from March 14 to July 30, 1955. The Nero Wolfe strip was handled by Roy who worked on it from November 26, 1956 to July 13, 1957. Through Roy’s syndication company, Royal Features, he produced Hoss Laffs which debuted December 14, 1959. Roy’s Sunday strip, Akwas, began June 7, 1964. Along with the topper, Indian Lore and Crafts, both ended March 28, 1965.
Roy was a member of the National Cartoonists Society.
Roy passed away March 25, 1996 in Springfield, Virginia. His Social Security application had his full name as Joseph Michael Roy. The Post published an obituary on March 28, 1996.
MV: Was there anyone else you went to school [High School of Industrial Arts] with who later worked in the business?Who’s Who of American Comics Books 1928–1999 said Roy contributed to comic books from 1940 into the early 1990s.
AB: Yes, there was another fellow there with us at school who while still a student did a Sub-Mariner story. His name was Mike Roy. He was looked upon as a big shot at school. He had done a “real” comic book feature! (Laughs).
MV: Mike Roy was drawing for either Goodman or Jacquet while in high school?
AB: Yes and he was real good, much better than we were at that time.
During World War II, Roy, under the name Joseph M. Roy, enlisted in the army on December 4, 1942. His occupation was commercial artist who had three years of college. According to Who’s Who, Roy attended Pratt Institute. The Washington Post said Roy was a paratrooper in the D-Day invasion of Normandy where he was wounded twice. Later, French-speaking Roy was an Army interpreter in France and Belgium. Roy was discharged December 6, 1945.
Roy’s step-father also registered for the draft. Adjutor was 45 years old and resided, with his half-sister, at 572 Eagle Avenue, the Bronx. Adjutor was employed at the New York City Rapid Transit Company. After the war, Adjutor became a naturalized citizen on May 2, 1949.
Around 1947, Roy married Adrienne Louise Mootafian (1923–2009). She should not be confused with Adrienne Roy (1953–2010) the comic book colorist.
The Post said Roy moved, in 1950, to Washington, DC where he worked with the U.S. Information Agency.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Leslie Charteris’s character, The Saint, was adapted as a comic strip. Roy drew the strip from September 27, 1948 to October 13, 1951. From time to time, Roy had inking assists by John Belfi, Sam Burlockoff and Jack Davis*. Roy ghosted the strip, Ken Winston from March 14 to July 30, 1955. The Nero Wolfe strip was handled by Roy who worked on it from November 26, 1956 to July 13, 1957. Through Roy’s syndication company, Royal Features, he produced Hoss Laffs which debuted December 14, 1959. Roy’s Sunday strip, Akwas, began June 7, 1964. Along with the topper, Indian Lore and Crafts, both ended March 28, 1965.
Roy was a member of the National Cartoonists Society.
Roy passed away March 25, 1996 in Springfield, Virginia. His Social Security application had his full name as Joseph Michael Roy. The Post published an obituary on March 28, 1996.
* The National Cartoonist, Volume 1, Number 2, “Jack Davis on the Comics Page”,
page 28: You ended up inking The Saint.
I’d heard they need someone to ink The Saint at the Herald-Tribune. I rushed down there with my portfolio and they gave me some strips. I got the job, and worked with Mike Roy for a year. It was good training. Again, I was making a little more than a $100 a week. I was thinking about getting married and things were rolling right along and then the Herald-Tribune folded, and I was out on the street again.
—Alex Jay
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
There's an infamous story of how later Batman artist Lew Sayre Schwartz was originally hired to produce THE SAINT but Schwartz and Leslie Charteris mixed like oil and water. When Leslie criticized Lew's ability to draw hands, Lew quit. When I interviewed him back in 2004, he showed me the month's worth of strips he had drawn, but Leslie opted for a different story for syndication and Mike Roy was hired. Scwartz's work was sold as a set and will hopefully see print some day.
In the 1960's, Roy was VP of a now-defunct Washington, DC organization called the American Indian and Eskimo Cultural Foundation, which was founded by artist Solomon McCombs.
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Thursday, September 20, 2018
Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Jim Christiansen
James “Jim” Orman Christiansen was born in Baldwin, New York, September 18, 1927, according to Who’s Who of Comic Strip Producers. The same birth date was found in the Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875–1940, at Ancestry.com, which had Christiansen’s full name and baptism on December 13, 1927 at the Zion Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York.
Christiansen and his parents, Ivar and Marie, were recorded in the 1930 U.S. Federal Census in Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, at 51 Harte Street. Christiansen’s father was a Norwegian emigrant and bricklayer.
The Nassau Review-Star (Freeport, New York), December 21, 1935, published an “In Memoriam” list that said Christiansen’s mother died December 21, 1930. It’s not known when his father remarried to Charlotte Jensen.
The 1940 census recorded Christiansen, his father, sister, step-mother and step-grandmother in Roosevelt, Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, at 133 East Lincoln Avenue. Christiansen’s father was an insurance agent.
Christiansen’s father’s New York Guard service card said he served two years, from 1940 to 1942. The card listed two addresses: the home address was 133 Lincoln Avenue, Roosevelt, New York; and the change of address was 37 Grand Terrace, Baldwin, New York.
Christiansen graduated from Baldwin High School. At the baccalaureate services, the Nassau Review-Star, June 25, 1945, reported that “Christiansen, a senior, acted as chairman and read the Scriptures.”
Who’s Who of Comic Strip Producers said Christiansen studied at the School of Visual Arts.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Christiansen was an assistant to Tom Gill who drew the strip, Flower Potts, from May 20, 1946 to July 3, 1948.
Christiansen served in the Korean War. He was an army engineer according to Who’s Who of Comic Strip Producers. The Nassau Review-Star, September 18, 1952, noted the return of several local veterans including Christiansen.
16 Vets of Korea Reach Coast on Way HomeChristiansen was the third artist on Davy Crockett, Frontiersman, which began with Jim McArdle on June 20, 1955. In mid-January 1957, Jack Kirby ghosted the strip for about two-and-a-half weeks. Christiansen took over the Columbia Features strip on March 10, 1957.
Troop transports brought 16 Nassau veterans of Korea combat to the U. S. West Coast yesterday.
Arriving at Seattle and San Francisco were: …Rockville Centre—Private First Class James O. Christiansen of 22 Cambridge Street
Christiansen was the fourth artist on Nero Wolfe. Mike Roy started the strip November 26, 1956. He was followed by Pete Hoffman Fran Matera, and Christiansen, who produced the daily and Sunday from August 26, 1957 to March 1, 1958. Columbia Features was the syndicator.
Christiansen worked briefly in the comic book industry. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said he drew the Lone Ranger in 1955, and produced material for Treasure Chest from 1956 to 1958.
Both Who’s Who said Christiansen was an assistant art director at the Robinson Tog [sic: Tag] and Label Co. The dates of his employment were not stated.
Christiansen’s father passed away November 19, 1991 in Florida.
Christiansen’s present status and whereabouts are not known.
—Alex Jay
Labels: Ink-Slinger Profiles
Comments:
Jim Christiansen is alive and well at 91. I know. I'm one of his daughters. Impressive compilation up to the late 1950s of his life and work.
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