It's bird! It's a plane! It's a Griffin!

Some people just got way toooooo much talent.
Hedvig, who's sitting behind me here in the studio and also assists me on "Emma & Sara", just finished this page for a griffin story.

She's also working on her first sketchbook scheduled for SPX in Stockholm. Some really good stuff in it from what I've seen.
I'll let you know more as soon it's available.

True Love Confessions

For no reason at all I'm proud to present:
the cover to True Love Confessions no. 1, May 1954.
Told you I was a sucker for old romance comics...



BTW:Look at the dog. And then look at the dog again...
You know that that dogs face will haunt you when you sleep, don't you?

Barks?

I browsed the Heritage auctions website the other day.
And one of the lots that was sold last year caught my eye:

The description for lot 44042 read:
" Carl Barks - Uncle Scrooge #19 Cover Recreation Original Art (Another Rainbow, 1989). Uncle Scrooge animates a stack of coins with his golden musical touch, in this original illustration. Carl Barks recreated his original image to be used as a cover for a volume of Another Rainbow's slipcased Uncle Scrooge hardcover reprint editions. The image area measures 11" x 14". Matted and framed and in Very Good condition. From the Estate of Bruce Hamilton"

Well, I couldn't recall Barks doing any recreation of this cover for the CBL sets. And the art didn't look like Barks at all to me. So I searched Inducks, the internet database that indexes all the Disney comics in the world.
And, ta-da! This is what I found.

What was sold at Heritage wasn't a Barks drawing, but only a redrawn version (Not by Barks!) that was used as a poster in Walt Disney's Comics and stories #357. How much it went for? Some sucker paid $2629 for it!!!
Well, what can we learn from this? Don't get into colleccting original Barks art unless you can tell the difference between a real Barks and some other Disney artist.
But if you have spent all that money on it and can't tell the difference anyway... you might deserve it...

To finish this post here's Barks original cover for Uncle Scrooge #19.
(Courtesy of Inducks database.) Quite a difference between the two.

Disney's Tips on Animation

While my own blog is down I can always reccommend another: the Blackwing Diaries.
Jenny has just posted some wonderful stuff from Disneys Animation kit that was sold at Disneyland's Art Corner in the early 60's.
Check it out!

http://blackwingdiaries.blogspot.com/2007/03/disneys-tips-on-animation-part-1.html

Another rare WDC&S subscription card.

For those of you who can't get enough of WDC&S subscription postcards, here's another one.
This one's from 1948 and it seems to be traced Al Taliaferro artwork.



Have been busy with other stuff and internet is down in the Studio, in case you wondered why there has been so few posts lately.
It's Laserdome afternoon today and then I'll have to ink, ink and ink for the rest of the day...

"The tale about the wonderful family Rabbit and the monster in the forest"

Out now on Bonnier Carlsen is Jonna Björnstjerna's book
"Sagan om den underbara familjen Kanin och monstret i skogen".
She used to be a member of the Studio where I work and I saw this book being drawn last year.
It's a wonderful, and quite scary, story wich appeals to both kids and grown ups.
You can get it at Adlibris:
http://www.adlibris.com/se/product.aspx?isbn=9163852241&s=1
Also: check out her website: http://www.jonnabjornstjerna.com/

Below is a drawing she made during a dinner in my old flat a few years ago. What it is?
An elephant made out of lard with penguins growing on it's back! I guess we were all a little drunk that evening... :-)

Faster, Mickeymouse! Kill! Kill!

As promised here's more early 1930's Mickey from a British annual. Disney accepted much more "adult" stories back then. So if you dive into the big Disney pond and look at the stuff from the early days, you are bound to find odd and rare gems that might seem out of character today but that was perfectly normal in the 30's.
Below are two scans from one of those early Mickey stories.

When we enter the story Minnie has just been crooned to by a gigolo and given a drink in the bar.
When Mickey sees them he pulls out a gun and says: "Hand over that woman, you snake!"

"Stop," shouts Minnie, "wait until I've finished this cocktail, I've never had one before."
"Then it will be your last," Mickey says. "I paid a shilling for you to come in here and I'm goin to have value for my money!"


You would hardly see this scene in a Disney comic today.
A shame, isn't it. :-)

Robin and Bob

"Don't you wish your comic strip character was hot like mine?"
Maybe thats what Bob Lubbers thought back in the late 60's when he made this promotional drawing featuring himself with his heroine Robin Malone.
This original art is currently for sale on eBay. Anyone knows what publication it was created for?
(The missing R's in the balloon was probably Robin Malones trademark Robin R's glued on.)

Unca Carl Wants YOU!

Watched the second set of the Disney Treasures Donald Duck cartoons when some posters in the background of "Donald gets drafted" caught my eye. Aren't they by... It must be...
Well it IS (!!!) Carl Barks artwork! He probably did the pencils for these while other artists made the final colored backgrounds.
Here are three samples!
+ the Donald that begins this war-time short. Not by Barks but nice.




Sorry about the bad quality. Just used my digital camera in front of the tv...

Early 40's X-9 art by Graff!

Told you earlier I'm quite insane when it comes to collecting original art. This morning I woke up at 5 just to bid on, and win, an eBay auction. It's a 1940's Secret Agent X-9 daily by Mel Graff. While his 1950's artwork is common his early work on the strip is rare and hard to find. Just wanted to share these small scans from the auction. I'm reeeeeally looking forward to get this. :-)
(I'm always looking for original Graff artwork and other Graff related stuff, so if you got anything don't hesitate to contact me.)

Johanna K.

Johanna som sitter brevid mig i studion kommer från en håla kallad Vänersborg.
Hon är ganska lat, gillar att teckna lustiga djur och har ett par Totoro-tofflor som hon lufsar omkring med i studion.
Hon har fått mig att dricka omåttliga mängder té de senaste åren och brukar tjuvkika på Lost på youtube innan de sänds på fyran. Hon är dessutom lite kär i sin iPod som hon bär med sig vart hon än går. (Just nu misstänker jag att det är rätt så mycket the Shins i hennes lurar. Kanske lite Koop och Charlotte Gainsbourg också om jag känner henne rätt.)

Såhär ser hon ut när hon tecknar en serie om korkade hundar:


Och såhär ser hon ut när hon har städvecka och moppar Simon i studion:

Och så gör hon en serie om en tjock gul katt som heter Katten Nils. Han ser ut såhär:


Och såhär, när han tar hand om lille Tigris:


Och såhär, när han är lite deppig:


Vill man se mer av den här katten går det snart.
I en tidning som heter Kamratposten!!!
Där kan man följa hans öden och äventyr från och med
nummer 5 i år. I strålande fyrfärg. Det ni!

Vill man veta mer om Johanna och se mer av hennes teckningar går man bara in på hennes hemsida. Och det vill man ju.
Länk finns här intill!

English summary:
This is Johanna who sits next to me in the studio. Besides the two pics of her you also see samples from her strip "Katten Nils" (Nils the Cat) wich is scheduled to begin in the next issue of a childrens magazine called Kamratposten. You can see more of her artwork if you click on the Johanna K. link to the right.

Russell Patterson Pt.1

Besides having a terrible headache today (Nope, those cute painkiller bunnies doesn't work...) I've scanned a set (20) of Russell Pattersons huge 1920's art instruction sheets. They are just gorgeous. Been thinking about putting them together and print them so that more can enjoy them. (I have the only complete set that I know exist. There are probably more out there but locked up in collections.) But I need the text that went with the graphics I got. Anyone that has ever seen or heard about anyone having a set of the text?
Here's a sample half page from the set I got. The rest looks just as good.


And, oh, I've been watching real live bunnies in the park today.
That was FUN!
I reccommend everyone to get a weekly bunny injection.
Not to mention that I've got the Winnie the Pooh song echoing in my brain. Maybe that's why I've got a headache...

Hardcore Ink Nerds

Reading the lead story in this weeks Kalle Anka & C:o (Donald Duck & Co.) myself and Hedvig were noticing a difference in the inking of Rodriques artwork. Not long ago he had a smooth and flowing inking style. Now it feels unsure and uneven. Maybe a change of inker? I'd love to see the old inker back on his artwork again. (Yes, we are hardcore ink nerds...)

However, Hedvig challenged me to ink a panel from that story just to compare our styles and here are the results, with Rodriques original panel at the bottom, mine in the middle and Hedvigs on top.
(Click on the pic to enlarge.)

Me, the devil.

Beeing an editor at daytime for BAMSE means that I have to deal with freelancers.
Having three of them in the studio (Adam, Hedvig and Simon) means that I can watch over their shoulders and bug them about composition and perspetive etc. before they turn in their work.
Usually we get along fine but today... Well, I think that the picture Hedvig drew of me says it all. ;-)
I'm not THAT evil. I hope...

Russian illustrator I. Bilibin

Kim W. Andersson (See link to the right. He's also working here in the studio.) showed me a stack of illustrated russian folk tales published by Raben & Sjögren in 1978.
And, wow!!! They were were just soooo beautiful.
Just have to share two of the illustrations with you.
Made by russian (?) illustrator I. Bilibin around 1900. Enjoy!

Let me know if you want to see more of this.
I'd be happy to post some other good examples from the same books.

Danger, danger!

As promised yesterday, here's some wonderful art from the Swedish version of "Donald Duck's safetybook" ("Knattarna klarar allt" 1974. These drawings were not the 1971 "Knattarna lever farligt" version.) Fun to see them drawn in this really odd style.


For more cool and odd stylized Disney characters take a look at the links Didier has posted on his Disney history blog. There are some wonderful commercials posted on youtube that you don't want to miss if you enjoyed this post.

Mickeys suicide attempt

As some of you know Mickey Mouse tried to commit suicide in the early thirties. You've probably seen the daily strips where he tried to gas himself to death or jump from a bridge. But did you know that there was yet another suicide attempt outside the newspaper strip?
This was found in a british Mickey Mouse Annual. Enjoy!

I'll probably post a few more crude, politically incorrect examples from this annual soon.
However, in tomorrows post we'll find Donald Ducks nephews playing with their life. Stay tuned!

My Secret Romance

You can't hide your love forever.
And I love them all: Irma, Betty, Starlet O'Hara, Fritzi, Veronica, Millie and even Moronica.
You've guessed it, I'm a sucker for late 40's, 50's and 60's romance comics.
When creating the visual style for Emma & Sara I glanced more than one time at the artwork of Dan DeCarlo and Owen Fitzgerald. It just seem so easy the way they did it. Clean artwork with strong poses.
No cluttering, just good artwork to tell the story. Along with Alex Toth, Bob Lubbers, Floyd Gottfredson, Carl Barks and a few others I always return to Dan and Owens artwork when I need inspiration.
Damn, they were good!
Here are a few covers from that stack of comics I always keep in reach when I work.
As always: Click on the photos for larger images.

Cute bunnies and painkillers

Wouldn't it be more fun to have a hangover if painkillers came with cute bunnies on the packages?
I think I've discovered a whole new market. Sell painkillers in packages one and one with a cute character, like a kinder egg.
The slogan would naturally be "It has never been this fun to have an hangover!" I'm gonna be rich, rich, rich, moahahahaha...


No post yesterday. Have been busy with the new Emma & Sara page and still have some inking to do before I'm finished.

I blame it all on my assistant who has been busy herself with artwork for BAMSE. Hopefully she'll start with artwork for a new Emma & Sara page soon so I can sit back, relax and post more silly stuff om my blog.
Now I have to get some lunch, buy a new pair of socks, answer my cell phone and finish that #&€("€%$∞§ page...

the Disney kids funeral party

While digging through my piles of stats and original art I found this:
At first glance it seems like a birthday party with the Disney kids. But click on the image and look closer. To the right there is written Rest In Peace (RIP) on the glass. Then look at the table.
One of Donalds nephews is scribbling a picture of a kid on the table cloth. To me this all of a sudden looks more like a funeral party for a dead kid. Bizarre, eh?
(Actually it looks like something equally strange that you'd normally find on Craig Yoes "Arf Lovers Blog", which I recommend you visiting.) Now, while I know this was made by Swedish Disney artist Einar Lagerwall (probably in the 70's), the question is: was this ever published, where and why?
Any suggestions at all would make me sleep better tonight, or not...

Swedish Comic Archive

Courtesy of Thomas Storn and Hans Holm at Svenskt Seriearkiv
(Swedish Comic Archive) here's an early ad for the Swedish version of the Mickey Mouse Magazine: "Musse Pigg Tidningen". (Published in Sydsvenska Dagbladet Snällposten, September 16, 1937.)

Why am I posting this you might ask?
Just to get them to start their own blog.
They got soooo much good early and rare stuff in the archive that needs to be brought to light. So if you see them bug them about it. Sooner or later they are bound to give in. :-)
(And ask them about "Nisse Neger" and the Practical Pig xmas sausage ad... The 20's and 30's produced some of the weirdest an politically incorrect comics and ads of all time.)