Re-drawn

My girlfriend, Hedvig, spent the weekend over at her parents house in the countryside. There she found a set of sketchbooks that she filled with drawings some 10-12 years ago.
Now, instead of throwing them all away she did a series of re-makes.
Like this one:

Fun experiment, don't ya think?
If you like this sample, then more can be found in the blog post "A blast from the past" over at her blog.

Comics exhibition in Gagnef

If you happen to be near Gagnef, Sweden this summer you should visit the Ottilia Adelborg museum.
Why? There's a comic exhibition there showing some of the current Swedish comics made for kids. You'll be seeing finished original art, pencils, rough idea sketches etc.
All lent to the exhibition by the following creators: Annika Giannini (Tivoli), Hedvig Häggman-Sund & Adam Blomgren (Bamse), Joakim Lindengren (Strumpmysteriet), Johanna Kristiansson & Joakim Gunnarsson (Katten Nils), Lena Furberg (Mulle), Lisa Sjöblom & Richey Wyver (Tails from the Burrow), Natalia Batista (Mjau!), Sara Olausson (Loranga), Susanne Fredelius (Doris), Tina Landgren (Helmet Girl), Yokaj Studio (Teckna manga).


The exhibition is presented by Gagnef kommun and the comic book Tivoli. It's open June 19 to August 15.

Barks and the Queen of Sheba

Wednesday = Barksday!

More letters and photos from Bill Peckmann!
This time from 1979 and 1980.




[The letter above is actually from 1980 and not 1979.]

Looked through the files in my digital archive, where I store gems I find on the net and on eBay. And there I found a pencil drawing of the Queen of Sheba piece Barks mentions in his letter. :)
Enjoy!



And for completeness sake, the finished painting as found on the net in a flickr gallery.

Show Girl Dixie Dugan

Got a request for more of Louise Brooks look-alike Dixie Dugan by McEvoy and Striebel here on the Sekvenskonst blog.
So why not dig out a really early piece from my archives?
Before Dixie even had her own strip she appeared in Liberty magazine in a series of illustrated stories. Here is one installment from September 14, 1929. Enjoy!

Blow me down!

Ever dreamed of having a life-size Popeye in your living room?
Recently spotted this one through the windows of an antique shop. Enjoy!

Moving to Temecula in '77

Better late than never. Here's the Barks stuff I intended to post yesterday. More rare and previously unseen images from the collection of Bill Peckmann!

Back in 1977 the Barkses were moving to Temecula, CA and sent Bill this card, announcing their move.


Their new residence was this mobile home park. Barks house can be seen in the second image. (Photo from 1979.)

And on November 15, 1977 Carl wrote Bill a letter wich can be seen below. Part of it deals with the waterfowl paintings he did then and how Disney think they have copyright on any humanized ducks. ("Clunkus, bunkus, skunkus" as Barks comments.) And we also get a few snapshots of the paintings.




Next Wednesday we'll jump to 1979 with more photos and letters from Bill Peckmann's collection.

But before that, I have the pleasure to post some pics of Bill's own artwork!
He's been working in the illustration biz for an long time and I hope you enjoy these samples!


[Edit: Bill just sent me the following info about the image above "they are the animation crew of K.C.M.P. Productions, NYC, circa 1980's. (Left to right: Bill Peckmann, Cory Clayton, Ed Klein, Phil Kimmelman, Joe Gray, Mike Baez and Marty Polanski.) At that time we were working on Fanta Soda TV commercials that used Disney characters and we were fortunate enough to work with Disney animator Glen Keane." ]



And finally a proposal for the icehockey team the Might Ducks. :)

Got back from a short business trip to Istanbul yesterday and I have been working at Egmont and in the Studio the whole day and evening today. (It's 23:40 in Sweden now.) I feel really tired. Too tired to post any Barks stuff today, even though it's Wednesday. But hopefully I'll manage post something tomorrow. :) Stay tuned!

Western Printing – yesterday and today

Here's the full postcard of Western Publishing's Racine building on Mound Avenue, Racine, WI.

EDIT: The comic books were printed at the Poughkeepsie, NY printing plant. Not in Racine. Thanks to Bill Peckmann and Mike Barrier for sharing their knowledge.



And here's what the place looks like today.

There's a "For Lease" sign outside so if you're thinking about starting up a publishing company this is the place to go for. :)

For an illustrated history about Western Printing and Litho go check out THIS site.

Identification day

Now, let's see if any blog reader can identify this "famous", but very seldom seen comics related building.

Need a hint?

Barks third letter to JV and some photos

It's Wednesday and time for the third letter Carl Barks wrote John Verpoorten. This one's from July 11, 1961. As usual it's Bill Peckmann who shares.


Quick jump to 1976.
Bill and John were visiting the Barkses in their home in Goleta the same day as Barbara Boatner was taking photos for "the Comics Journal". Here we see John and Carl at the drawingboard followed by the cover to tCJ #73.

Tower exerciser and reducer

A hot tip to all you cartoonists, writers, animators out there!
Slaving away at your drawingboard all day long? Feels like you are gaining more and more weight and there's no time for exercise? Here's what every cartoonist need to keep fit.
Get it to-day!

[Ths one is from Liberty, September 14, 1929.]

Tonics, Soda water, Soda pop and Soft drinks ...

It's a hot, sunny day here in Sweden. And the temperature climbs like a steeple-jack. Time for a carbonated beverage and a wonderful ad from Life, 1927. [Click to enlarge.]

Barks in '61

Now, it's Wednesday and back into Barks country we go.
Bill Peckmann continues to share some of his treasures.

This time we have Carl Barks second letter to John Verpoorten from March 22, 1961.



And as a bonus: The drawing Barks sent him.

I just learned that it was recently published in the Scandinavian Carl Barks Collection, in black and white. But here it is in color. Just so you get an idea of what the original art looks like.
And as an extra bonus here's the back of the artwork.:)


By now I'm sure to have scared every one not interested in Barks and old Disney stuff away from this blog... ;)
But for you who have read this far, just a little something that I noticed earlier today while looking for something else. Is it just me, or...


Enough duck stuff for today. Back to reality and those dishes that needs to be done and those pages that needs to be inked. It's already evening here in Sweden but the day has just begun.