The first Olli page

I'm finally back from Stockholm and SPX. We had fun the last two days and actually sold out before the show closed. :) Also bought some good stuff like Niklas Asker's graphic novel "Second Thoughts" and Ronnie del Carmen's "And there you are" (A must have for fans of this very, very talented Pixar artist).

And I also went to Seriegalleriet to pick up a nice piece of original art. This is the very first Olli page by Nils Egerbrandt from the very first issue of Tuff och Tuss from 1953. Olli had started as a strip the year before but this is his comic book debut. So the logo is even hand drawn instead of a stat. :)

I should also mention that my friend David Gerstein has started a new blog. The focus is on old cartoons, comics and music. It's called Ramapith: The Prehistoric Pop Culture Blog and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

SPX!

Things have been shaping up. :)
Not much activity on Friday but yesterday the floors were filled. "Emma & Sara" #7 and Hedvig's "som katt och hund" ("like Cat and Dog") sold out. Still some of Hedvig's skechbooks left but I think the last few remaining copies will sell today.[Edit: They sure sold out too.] Now I gotta go to catch the train. Just wanted to make a quick status update. If in Stockholm please come by our booth and say hi. :)

/Joakim.

SPX???

So yesterday we headed for Kulturhuset in Stockholm to attend the first day of spx09. The program said it would start at 17.00 and continue to 20.00 this day. But... to our surprise there was nothing. Absolutely nothing! When we got to the floor were spx was supposed to be there was a photo exhibithion. Not even a sign saying spx had been cancelled or anything. We saw people coming up the stairs looking around and just shaking their heads.
What more can I say that this is a pretty sloppy organisation failure. Myself I took one day extra off from work just to be able to attend all days. They could at least have updated their website mentioning this. Even having a small sign at the location that the event had been cancelled would have been a nice gesture to people. Just to give some information. But, no. This resulted in a pretty grumpy Joakim...
Now, let's hope things will shape up and that there actually will be something happening this weekend.

E&S #7

Soon I'll be heading for SPX in Stockholm together with Hedvig. So there will probably be no blog updates until tuesday next week. At SPX we'll have the first issue of "Emma & Sara" for sale. We've only printed 30 copies, so first come, first served...

Hedvig will also bring the remaining copies of her sketchbook and some prints etc.


And the catalouge featuring original art from mine and Germund Von Wowern's collections has also arrived! More about this one when I'm back. Now I'll have to pack my bags and get some sleep...

/Joakim.

E. Simms Campbell

Two nice gags by E. Simms Campbell found in two different issues of the Pictorial Review from 1945 and 1949. More stuff by him can be found here and here.

Taliaferro's Hidden Gold!

Check out the vintage storybooks blog for the first part of Al Taliaferros "Donald Duck and the Hidden Gold". A rare gem!

Rare Mickey Mouse panels

These Mickey and Goofy panels, from a sunday page dated August 17, 1941, are currently for sale on eBay. Always nice to see artwork that survived from the early days of Walt Disney's Comic Strip Dept.
And look closely at the second panel!
The text in the left margin reads:
"fter laughs dosier Floyd and not pat is r".
Then move your eyes to the right column:
"D o M. Gonzales inked same Wright Bill Wh fly".
Ha! I bet they never thought anyone would catch them hiding their names in that panel. :)

Tubbs to Ivey

Here are some pictures I found on eBay some 8 years ago. Back in the 70's Gordon Campbell and Jim Ivey compiled a book with Roy Crane's materpiece Wash Tubbs. These photos are from Jims copy of the book where Roy made several original color pieces. A one of a kind item. I hope it can be located for the new Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy reprints because I'd love to see them in higher resolution and in print. (If you know where it it please don't hesitate to contact Fantagraphics and let them know.) But until then here are some small but nice images. Enjoy!





PS. And while at it, here's a bonus Tubbs. A very off-model cover:

Vic Vet Says

While looking for the obscure Redwood strips I found some panels called Vic Vet Says. And I just love the way they are drawn. :)
Anyone who knows the artist behind these? The style reminds me of Roy Nelson. The sample above is from October 1949 and here are a few more:
February 19, 1947
July 29, 1948
January 27, 1949
November 16, 1949
August 29, 1951
And finally one example that appeared on a comics page in 1949. All the other samples I've found has been on random pages in the different newspapers it appeared.)

More form the Redwood Jounal

Here are some more samples of the the Redwood Journal Press-dispatch comics page.
Newspaperarchive is not working properly so I have to download each and every page before I can look at them. But I hope some of you find these interesting even if the strips are mediocre. Maybe they at least can fill som gaps in the Strippers Gudie?

By August 29, 1951 the line up had changed and none of the early strips remained.
Windy Windup by Dean Fisher
Small in the saddle by Jack Taylor
Heavy Hannah by Jay
Indian Summers by Jay Ganschow
The Middles by Bob Karp and ???
Mayor McGup by John Jarvis
Laff of the week by Bob Barnes

By November 17, 1951 not ony the line up has changed but also some of the artists/writers since the August example above.
Windy Windup by Chris
Small in the saddle by Jack Taylor
Indian Summers by Bob Kirk (?)
Heavy Hannah by Bob Alexander
The Baffles by Mahoney
Mayor McGup by John Jarvis
Laff of the week by Bob Barnes

The April 19, 1952 below is a bit muddy but the line up remains.

Higgins ink ad

Above is an ad for Higgins ink with artwork by Milton Caniff. I found this on the back cover of the January 1946 issue of American Artist.

A hare and lots of bags

The painting above used to hang in my grandparents home. I saw it all my childhood and after they both passed away was happy to get it. Actually, nobody else in the family wanted it. No masterpiece but it's quite large and actually the only piece I have from my grandparens home. It was made by Nils Björkquist in 1964.

From one thing to another: here's another photo from my apartment.
I decided to clean the kitchen last weekend and discovered that I had a billion bags in my drawers and under the sink. I've just been hoarding them for years, always buying new ones instead of using the ones I got... (This must be the most boring pic I've ever posted on this blog. Why am I posting this...?)
Oh, well, at least I found one with a Daniel Branca drawing on it...

Merton Musty and friends

Ger Apeldoorn has recenly discovered some really rare newpaper strips by Disney animators on Newspaperarchive.com.
The announcement was made over at Strippers Guide three days ago and I just downloaded two pages to share with you. The Comics page began in the Redwood Journal Press-dispatch on April 19,1950 and the last I've found is from May 1951. By 1951 the line up has changed a little, with Bob Karp doing a panel etc.
I guess Ger will show more on his blog. But here are Pepe by Will, Holly Wood by Gil Turner, Milford, Pam by Gus Jekel, Life With A Wife, Merton Musty by Dick Moores, Sleepy Holler by Jerry Hathcock, Animal Antics by Bob Dalton, Sidetrack by Dick Shaw...


Anyone with more info on this?

House for sale

If you are an obsessive Mel Graff fan you might enjoy this virtual tour of his home near the great lake Sacandaga
http://tour.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=681332&refurl=lakehouse.com

Coming up soon: A hare in the snow and lots of bags...

Love Hurts and Second Thoughts

Kim W Andersson left our studio here in Malmö a week ago and has now moved to Stockholm. But before he left he made a trailer for his upcoming album Love Hurts. While you'll have to wait a few weeks before you can buy the album you can watch the trailer here and now. :)


And I want to make sure you don't miss Niklas Asker's album Second Thoughts. It's in English and available via Amazon etc. And if you are in Stockholm April 23 - 26 make sure to pick up both Love Hurts and Second Thoughts at SPX.

Montana by Branca

Anyone who knows if "Montana" made by Linton Howard and Daniel Branca in the 90's is available in collected form? The only page I've ever seen is this one:


Would love to see more. I'm also interested in seeing, and possibly buying, an original oil painting by Branca. If you know what happened to his paintings, and if they are for sale please mail me privately: sekvenskonst at telia.com

Now back to calculating my taxes for 2008... (The sun is shining but I'm stuck inside with paperwork and laundry. Groan.)

/Joakim.

E&S #199

Just finished inking Hedvigs pencils for Emma & Sara #199. Now my neck aches and I'm hungry. Guess it's time to leave the studio for something to eat...

But before I sign out here are two panels from the above mentioned page:


BTW: Hedvigs new sketchbook is printed now. You can order it from her via her blog or get your copy signed at SPX in Stockholm later this month. All previous sketchbooks are sold out so better grab this one while it last. (Only 50 printed and going fast.)

Here's the cover and some sketches I grabbed from her blog:

Saved from the trash

For many, many years all of the Disney comic books and other printed matters were printed by Egmont (Hemmets Journal) themselves. When the printing plant was closed down a few years ago their archives were packed down in boxes and stuffed away. Yesterday the boxes were pulled from storage and were made ready to be thrown away to make space for new stuff. I had the chance to grab whatever I wanted before they went to the dumpsters.
Most of it were from the 70's and 80's. But one box were filled with promotional stuff etc from the 40's -the 60's.
Here are some samples of what I found.





The Nephew above to the left is probably from the mid 50's. Donald is probably from a later date.

In the box with the really old stuff i found a folder marked "Provtryck 1948" (Test print 1948) and it contained three copies of what looks like a test print of the first issue of Kalle Anka & C:o. The interior is the same as in the printed version. It's just the cover colors that differs. I guess it's not worth as much as the version that was finally released but If anyone has an estimate I'd be happy to know.
BTW: If anyone is interested in buying the other two copies I found please leve a message in the comments field.

[Edit: This was an April Fools joke. A successful one judging by the mails I recieved and that I've never had as many visitors on one day as when I posted this. :) ]