Andy Hardy by Al Hubbard - Part II

Finally... Here are the Andy Hardy pages that I've promised to post. You can see the original pencil script to te left and the printed page to the right.
Myself I find it interesting to compare and to see how close the artist follows the layouts provided in the script.

Al Hubbard did the finished art but who did the script? Hubbard himself or someone at Western?

Anyway, I guess that 1950's scripts from Western publishing rarely turns up so I hope you enjoy this post.

Looking for Barney and Snuffy

[Edit: Found the book for only $8. :) ]
I'm trying to find Brian Walker's "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith" book. If you have a copy on your shelf in decent condition that you want to part with please drop me a line at sekvenskonst at telia dot com

I'm also looking for Barney Google newspaper strips from the 30's and early 40's.
Other newspaper strips I'm looking for includes
*The Adventures of Patsy by Mel Graff and Charles Raab
*Gus and Gussie by Paul Fung
*Dumb Dora by Paul Fung and Bil Dwyer
If you want to complete your own collection of the above strips I can always trade copies.

/Joakim.

Hultgren or Hubbard?

These Barney Rooster pages from Supermouse were recently sold on eBay. Labeled as Ken Hultgren but I don't know... Looking at the gestures, poses etc I'd say these are drawn by Al Hubbard!



Wich reminds me to post those Andy Hardy pages soon...

When you sleep - she will creep - into your thoughts...

As a detour of drawing pretty girls here's a not so pretty one. She's actually a stalker. Reday to deliver a letter to a boy that fears her more than anything else in the world. Because if he doesn't reply to her she will smash his window, climb into his apartment and slit his throat. Just in case you wondered...

Woody Hackspett

My friend Germund just sent me a photo of this sheet music from 1948. It's the Woody Woodpecker ("Hacke Hackspett" in Swedish) song, that was a hit in the States.
But, I wonder if the Swedish publishers had any idea at all what Woody Woodpecker looked like...

Edit: Here's the cover to the US version of the sheet music. See how similar yet very, very different they are.

Lektyr

Back in the 40's and 50's, before it became a magazine more and more oriented towards porn, the magazine Lektyr featured some comics.
And they even used them to sell copies by making special cover art.
I was lucky to find two of those while browsing stacks of old magazines, during a vacation with my girlfriend and her family a few weeks ago.

Here's a 1945 cover featuring "Styrman Rask".

According to Hans Holm "Styrman Rask" was a Danish comic called "Styrmand Rask", written by Paul Hilsø and drawn by Helge Hansen.
It was created as a replacement for Flash Gordon in Dansk Familieblad 1942. (I guess they had problems getting material from the syndicate during WWII.) It ran in Lektyr in Sweden 1945 - 1954.

And here we have "Styrman Rask".

In the same issue we also find "Bill vid ridande polisen" ("King of the Royal Mounted") and "Filimon", a Swedish comic by Helge Forsslund.


1958 "Lance" was introduced. And naturally he graced the cover too.

Donald Duck and illegal downloading

A Donald Duck story published in the latest issue of Kalle Anka & C:o (Donald Duck & Co.) here in Sweden is currently beeing discussed on various internet forums.
The two pager is about illegal downloading and can be found HERE.
Now, this story, H26308, was first published in Holland, December 2007.
Was there any reaction to it there? Anyone who knows why it was made? Any special occasion?

There was also a report about it in Aftonbladet (in Swedish) wich can be found HERE.
And an open letter to the editors (also in Swedish) can be found on facebook.

Edit: Fredrik Strömberg just wrote about it on his blog.

Edit: Dagens Nyheter (One of the major Swedish newspapers writes about it HERE.

Norman Rockwell doing a Disney cover!

Did you know that Norman Rockwell once painted a "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" cover? Well, not one that was used on the cover of the comic book, but in one of his paintings you can see the cover of WDC&S 111 on the comic book rack in the left corner.The title of the painting is Shuffleton's Barbershop and was published on cover of The Saturday Evening Post, April 29, 1950.

And here's the cover of WDC&S 111, December 1949.

[I don't know if the above is common knowledge among fans, but I still thought it would be worth sharing.]

For more on Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell see THIS post on Tagtoonz.

Edit: After redaing Timos comment I searched the Grand Comics Database, looking for what the title above the WDC&S might be. And it seems that it's mostly based on Crime does not pay #79 with a little bit of Crime and Punishment #19 (The man in the bottom left corner.) Both covers drawn by Charles Biro. Thanks, Timo!

Pogo in Pandemonia

If you havn't seen the blog devoted to Walt Kelly's "Pogo in Pandemonia" you really should check it out! Beautiful artwork by Kelly at his very best.
Just click HERE!

Gottfredson?

At the Seriernas värld exhibition were three Mickey Mouse strips on display.
(Click to enlarge.)

I've seen them exhibited before and always labeled as Floyd Gottfredson art.
If you know your Gottfredson art and how his style developed over the years it's obvious that the strips are by someone else. Notice how the copyright year has been removed to make identification harder. They were probably sold as Gottfredson dailies by someone who knew they weren't. Here are some close ups:



The first time I saw these strips I thought they were made by an assistant, toward the end of Gottfredson's run. But after seeing the original below for sale on eBay I'm quite sure wich strip we are dealing with...




"Mickey Mouse and his friends" was produced during the 50's and 60's and the main difference between this strip and the regular MM strip was that it always were a pantomime strip. (Just like the three strips at the exhibition.)

Checking inducks and comparing artwork I'd say the strips are by Julius Svendsen, not Gottfredson.
Anyone who disagree?

Roy Nelson original art

Guess what I just won on eBay? :)

The "Seriernas värld" exhibition

Last week I and my girlfriend visited Örebro to see the comics exhibition "Seriernas värld" at Örebro läns museum. It turned out that the trip was more than well worth it. This is certainly one of the best exhibitions about comics I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty.
There are loads of original art on display! You'll find everything from modern (and old) swedish comics to great european and american artists.
All put together by Thomas Karlsson with help from collectors and dealers that generously has loaned their treasures.
The exhibition is open until September 27.
Tuesdays 11-17, Wednesdays 11-21 and Thursday to Sunday 11-17. Admission 50:-. (No admission if you are under 16.)

I took a few snapshots so that you can get an idea of what to expect.
(Click on the images to enlarge.)

First we have the entrence with a shop. Here you can buy comic collections and merchandise. There's also a exhibition catalouge in Swedish. It doesn't feature the artwork on display, but it's a perfect introduction to the world of comics to the casual visitor or to someone who just got interested in comics history.



Next we have some photos of the room featuring Swedish artists and comics from other parts of europe. The guy in the first pic is Thomas himself. He was kind enough to take some time off to show us the exhibition.





Let's zoom in on that last pic. Anyone seen those cut up Jan Lööf hand colored comics pages before? Have they been published anywhere? [Edit: Thanks to Håkan I now know where they have been published. See the comments for more info.]

Then we have a room filled with american (and british) comics. Originals by Alex Raymond, Hal Foster (a panel), Burne Hogarth (a full Tarzan sunday), Milton Caniff, Bob Lubbers, Mort Walker etc. The original script to the 12'th part of Watchmen by Alan Moore is also on display.




There's also a room where workshops are held and where kids can draw their own comics.

Some Rip Kirby panels made of concrete. :)


There's also a small room with childrens comics featuring artwork by Rune Andréasson and Disney artists like Paul Murry. (Two original pages from his 1972 "Message in a nutshell" is on display.)

Wich leads us to the next post that will focus on a few strips in that room. But until then here's a question:
Who drew this?

Some roughs and some inked ones

Just a quick note to say I'm back in the city. And back in the studio with time to blog again. I've just spent a week with my girlfriend in the countryside. And we've had a great time with lots of time to just goof off and relax. :)

I've also gathered lots of material for the blog during this vacation. You never know what you can stumble upon at the local yardsales etc. And I've also visited a great exhibition of original art and comics history. More about that tomorrow!

Until then here are some roughs that I made during one of our trips, followed by the finished inks completed a few minutes ago.



A similar character turned up on the back of my notebook a few days ago. So here's an EXCLUSIVE on the blog ONLY image of the back of my NOTEBOOK!!!
Now, I really gotta do something worthwile... Seriously. Like going to sleep... I'm way to tired to blog and I think you can tell...

Screamers on a Train

Right now I'm on a train together with my girlfriend Hedvig. It's hot, no air conditioning and people are coughing and small kids are screaming and crying. Well, we are trying to survive.

And it just happens that the latest Emma & Sara (written and drawn by Hedvig) has the same theme. E & S are faced with screaming kids, a coughing lady and a punk kid who plays loud music on a train. Here are a few panels. The page has been sent to the colorist and will appear in Julia 17 this year.