Saturday 26 April 2008

Bob Lubbers - Long Sam


As a follow up to yesterdays post here are some nice samples of Bob Lubbers strip Long Sam, just to show you how good it was. If you ask me this is one of the finest newspaper strips that was made in the late fifties with it's mix of adventure and humor. It was both realistic and cartoony and Lubbers showed that he could draw anything with ease.
Just have a look at the samples below.
See how he plays with the form of the strip. One day it was straight adventure or drama, the next he experiments and gives the characters wild expressions and bends their bodies like they were taken out of a Li'l Abner daily. And sure, Lubbers also ghosted the Li'l Abner strip doing the girls. :)
Long Sam ran from 1954 until 1962 and the samples shown here are from 1956 to 1958. (All taken from proof sheets.)
They sure makes you want to see more, eh?

The style in the strip below reminds me of his beautiful Tarzan strips from the early 50's.



And finally: Bob having some fun with the panels and balloons. (Notice the signatures in the last strip.)
If you like the samples above, spread the word about them. The more people who are aware of this strip the more likely it will be that we one day will see a reprint, I guess. :)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bob Lubbers var en riktig favorit. Det var läcker med den gamla tunna X9tidningen som fanns i slutet på sextio.

Jag har ett vagt minne att den där serien fanns på svenska. Jag hittade någon gammal expressen eller liknande från den tiden man hade två sidor serier. Då fanns det en serie av Lubbers/Capp och det borde väl varit denna.

Anonymous said...

Me like! If only reproducible originals of the entire run could be secured, I believe a beautiful, funny feature like this would sell well enough to at least break even. I'd buy it in a minute.
Published 1954-62, say 8+ years of material, means the run could be divided into five grand volumes ...
Dream dream dream ...

Joakim Gunnarsson said...

Serien hette "Vildkatten" på svenska och jag har en samling klipp av veckoserien. Kan den gått i Året Runt? Många av de jag har (alla?) minns jag är i svart, vitt och rött. Kanske med nån grönton också.

-= Steamboat Willie =- said...

Slå på "Vildkatten" på Seriewikin. Där är en ruta från Året Runt 1960 med någon sorts färger.

Anonymous said...

I loved reading Long Sam when I was growing up. I just thought of her again and thought I would try to find out if there was a book or something where I could re-read them. I have never been a real big comic reader but I sure loved Long Sam! Any hope of a book of the cortoon strip?

Unknown said...

Bob Lubbers is my uncle (dad's brother) and what a great artist!!! Inspiring to have grown up near him and his wonderful sense of the world!! I'm very proud to have him as part of my family. Recently saw him in CT for a family weekend and he is doing great!!

Joakim Gunnarsson said...

k:
Nice to hear that Bob is doing well! It's been a while since I was in touch with him and I sure miss his friendly letters.

Anonymous said...

My mother loved Long Sam and used to have the whole collection from the newspaper that she started when she was a little girl. Unfortunatly my stupid father threw it out during a move and my mom is still pissed about it. It would be great if they reprinted it as I could get it for her as a gift.