The masters touch

While waiting for tomorrows Alex Raymond photos here's an obscurity. His handprint! Now you can study every line of his hand. Confess it. You know that you will click on the picture to enlarge it you, you hand fetishist you...

You can also print this out, bring it to your plastic surgery clinic and ask them to re-make your own hand to look like Alex'. With a hand like that you should be able to draw like the master himself!
Now, who will be the first idio... ahem blog reader to try it?

Meet Wag Patakey Pt.III

Here are the last two Easy sundays.


Tomorrow you'll get another dose of Alex Raymond photos.
I just can't get enough of those. :)

If you like what you see on this blog: Please spread the word!
List it in search directories, post links on mailing lists and on forums. The more visitors the more fun it is to share rare stuff and keep it updated.:)

Meet Wag Patakey Pt.II

Here's the second installment of Leslie Turners serial about cartoonist Wag Patakey. The last two will be posted tomorrow. (Still missing the second to last sunday.)

More Raymond photos

Before posting the rest of Leslie Turner's Easy sundays, here are some more Alex Raymond photos from ca. 1949-1950. All sent to me by Ulrich Merkl, author of the new Winsor McCay book "The complete DREAM OF THE RAREBIT FIEND (1904-1913)" (Follow the link to his website.)





The first photo has Raymond together with his assistant Ray Burns, but who are the persons in the last two photos? Anyone who knows?

Meet Wag Patakey Pt.I

Any fans of Leslie Turners "Captain Easy" out there?
For years I've been aware of a sunday episode from the 50's about the cartoonist Wag Patakey trying to meet his deadline on his strip "Giddy McWaddle". A character based on both Turner himself and his mentor Roy Crane.
But it wasn't until two weeks ago I could sit down and actually read the story. (A big "Thank You!" goes out to Ron Goulart who sold me the sundays!)
For all of you who hasn't seen it, I thought it would be unfair just to keep it for myself. So, beginning today and continuing next week here are Turners sundays from 3-15 to 4-26, 1953.
(However I'm missing the 4-19 sunday to complete the storyline. Anyone out there who can help? And since the 4-26 is the last I got maybe the story continues after that one? It looks like an ending but...)


(Files big enough? Or too big?)

Here in Malmo the weather has been really bad today. Rain just pouring down. Spent an hour or two at a café reading a book and trying to plot some one page gags. Went home. Soaking wet. Read a book. Then made pasta with sun dried tomatoes, garlic and shrimps. Watched V for Vendetta. Called Hedvig who is in Eskilstuna hanging out with her good friend Maria. Checked my emails and then went to the studio where I am right now. I really should avoid working today so I'd better head home again soon...

Alex Raymond photos

I'm back blogging again!
It's been hot, hot, hot here in Sweden the past week but today the rain came and made it easier working and thinking again.

Anyhow, here are some rare photos of Alex Raymond that was sold on eBay a while ago. If you didn't catch them then, here they are now: (Please click on photos and descriptions for larger images.)

First we have Alex and his assistant Ray Burns. (Notice the poster by Raymond in the background. The pencils to it can be found in one of Russ Cochrans old Graphic Gallery catalogs.)

Last of the Murry Mondays.

Seems there isn't that much interest in seeing Paul Murrys cartoons so this is the last of the Murry Mondays.
For those of you who really want to see it all I suggest that you get in touch with Germund Von Wowern. germund_vw at yahoo.com

But to end it all I thought I sould bring you a grande finale. A halfpage from 1956 that never was finished.
The original art belonged to Don Ault for many, many years but has now found its home in my collection.
Just look at this piece. While there are plenty of 1970's pages available, there simply doesn't exist more pages like this.
Intended as cover 3 in Donald Duck #47, May 1956, here it is.
Enjoy!

For those of you who want to see it in print: check out the next Hall of Fame volume devoted to Paul Murry.

E&S&H

This post is just to say a big "Thank You!" to Hedvig for literally saving my neck with her work on the "Emma & Sara"-page I'm finishing right now. She just pencilled and partially inked a page in no-time, when I had pain in my neck and facing a deadline. Will do the logo today and turn in the work on Monday. So everything is on schedule, thanks to you Hedvig. :)
Here are two panels from the page in a soon-to-be-finished stage.



And two recent photos of the most beautiful artist around. ;)

Nisse Neger

Browsing old newspapers you are bound to find offensive images of racial stereotypes.
This is an example from a Swedish newspaper, a strip called "Nisse Neger" published in Aftontidningen in the early 50's. One can only wonder how anything like this could ever have been accepted. It's not even a bit funny. But for those of you interested in the history of old comic strips I thought I should share this sample.
Can't read the signature in the last panel. Anyone knows the origin of this strip? American? Scandinavian?

Hey, waiter!

An "Adventures of Patsy" strip from 1941. (Click to enlarge.)
Doesn't that waiter remind you of someone?
Noel Sickles is rumored to have ghosted a big chunk of this sequence, so it's probably not just a coincidence that the waiter looks like Milt' Caniff even if this strip looks like the work of Raab. What do you think?

Always looking for Mel Graffs and Charles Raabs Adventures of Patsy strips. Copies, tearsheets and original art. Drop me a line at sekvenskonst at telia.com if you got something I might be interested in.

Murry in Hollywood Pt. II

Here are the rest of the Hollywood gags, as promised last week. Not on a Monday, but still. Here they are:




(Just noticed that the above panel was also used in Smiles #25 and already posted on the blog... But since it was used twice I'll keep it in this post also.)

BTW: Have got zero feedback on these Murry posts. Anyone interested in seeing more?

And for those of you worried about my health, I feel much much better now. Neck pains almost entirely gone.
Life feels good again. :)

Buck O'Rue article

Todays post over at Stripper's Guide is a must for Paul Murry fans!
"News of Yore: Buck O'Rue Launched"
Go check it out!

BTW: Stripper's Guide is one of the few sites/blogs I visit almost daily. Soooo much good stuff there! It's easy to just spend an hour or two there reading the archived posts.

Murry in Hollywood

What's a Monday without some rare Paul Murry art?
Last week there was a break due to my neck pains (It hurts I can tell you. Still taking those painkillers everyday...) but this week we are back with five gags from "Hollywood". Enjoy!





Five more from the same publication to follow next week.

Rare Caniff

Like yesterdays post this was found on the rarities CD I made a few years ago.
It's signed by Milton Caniff, but the question is what this was made for? Was it for an unpublished project? Any hardcore Caniff fans out there with more knowledge?





To end this Caniff post: Here is a scan of a nice original owned by my neighbour Germund von Wowern. Me like... It's faaaar more impressive than the one I got.


PS. Check out the new post at Arf lovers blog, if you havn't already. There's a scan of the very, very, very first Pogo strip that Craig Yoe owns.

Three gems

After yesterdays horrible pics I have some better ones from the rarities CD I mentioned in an earlier post.
First a Frank Robbins Hit Kit of popular songs cover:
Not that easy to find I guess...

A drawing by Milt' Caniff from 1937:


And to round off this post a Burma panel from 1938, for no other reason than I like it. Ahh, that use of blue wash on the original art. Just love it!