From cover to cover

A good idea can always be used again.

Collier's April 18, 1953

Donald Duck 77, 1961.

Collier's January 1, 1938

WDC #590, 1994. (Image first used in the Netherlands 1992.)

Little Lulu #69, 1954

Tothday

Is it Friday? No, it's Tothday.
Two pieces of concept art by Alexander Toth.
(Images caught on eBay.)

The Unghunden award

It feels like I've been away from this blog too long now.
Been busy as a bee working on various projects and stuff.
And... two weeks ago I and my colleague Johanna Kristiansson got the Unghunden award for our work with comics for children!
(Mainly Katten Nils /Nils the Cat) Happy, happy! Joy, joy!
Here are a few snapshots from the award ceremony at the Gothenburg bookfair!

Photo by Charlotta Borelius

Photo by Rolf Lindby

Photo by Hedvig Häggman-Sund

Photo by Karl-Erik Lindkvist

The last Li'l Abner

I don't know if this sunday ever has seen print. But here it is. What I believe to be the last finished sunday, scheduled for November 27, 1977.

Fake $crooge

Fake Barks art can be found in the oddest of places. This piece was found on the Carl Barks Fanclub website! 

Compare it to the drawing on the cover to Uncle Scrooge in Color and you can easily see that the above piece is a rather clumsy tracing with a fake signature.

BTW: Where is this Scrooge image taken from?

Speaking of drawings that are not by Barks: The seller hailtotheseahawks recently *sold* two of the forgeries that "redwoodangels13" tried to sell some time ago on eBay. Be aware of this seller!

The Wright Mouse

Bill Peckmann was kind enough to to mail me a few more scans of Bill Wright's artwork (And a Harvey Eisenberg page.) that I thought you might enjoy.

Bill says:

"As a 7 year old kid, this MM was comic book reading at it's best! Looking at it now, there seems to be a very heavy Flash Gordon influence of the day.
 Quite an issue, Bill and Harvey Mickey Mice!"

Cover by Eisenberg. (?)

Art by Harvey Eisenberg.

DD - Specially for Sweden

Check this out! Fellow cartoonist David Liljemark just mailed me this pic of an old orange box. "Donald Duck  Specially for Sweden". Never seen any of these before. I bet very few of them have survived.

If any Donald Duck (or orange) collector wants this, David told me it's for sale! Just drop him a mail: davidliljemark /at/ comhem.se

Artist identification day

Here are two samples from an "Adventures of Tom" story that we plan to reprint later this year. (T&J #74) Now it looks like the work of Cecil Surry. But we are not sure.
Anyone who knows? Alberto? :)

Allan Kämpe is born!

Now, check this out!

Back in the 40's a rival to Alex Raymond's "Flash Gordon" was created in Sweden. The name of the comic was "Allan Kämpe" and the creator Eugen Semitjov. In this silent "documentary" short we get to see Eugen working in his studio and visiting the syndicate.

I never heard about this piece until today. What an amazing find.
Thanks to J. Smith and "Eugen Semitjovs Minnesfond" for restoring and uploading this historical piece!

Barks at Berkeley Con '73

Here's a gem that I just got from Alex Jay!
Don Ault's "On Carl Barks" from the Berkeley Con '73 program book. Enjoy!

For more of Don Ault on Carl Barks check out his interview book! Just click HERE to get it.

Goofy turns 37

Del Connell and Floyd Gottfredson sure kept track of things.
Like here, when Goofy realizes he forgot his own birthday (May 25) in this daily from May 29, 1969.

True Life Adv. and more

James Bohn asked on the Disney History Institute Facebook page if I could post some of the "True Life Adventures" proofs found in the Frank Reilly envelope. Why not? Here are a few pics I took earlier today. Enjoy!

According to INDUCKS these were written by Dick Huemer and drawn by George Wheeler.

And while I had that drawer open I took a few more snapshots of things in the Bill Wright collection. I guess you can tell why that eBay lot was a "must have". :)

The Imp Press - Part III

Some ten years ago or more there was an eBay auction that caught my eye. A lot featuring items that once belonged to Disney artist Bill Wright. And not just any items. Proofsheets and tearsheets to Mickey dailies + sundays and most interesting: A set of proofs to the Uncle Remus sundays drawn by Paul Murry and later Dick Moores. My friend and colleauge Germund had also spotted the lot so we decided to go "all in" on it. We just had to have it.
And we won!

Here are a few snapshots of what was in that lot, focusing on Bills own stuff. Enjoy!

Two late Mickey Mouse sundays drawn by Bill:

The "cover" to a collection of Brer Rabbit tearsheets.

Two "books" of Mickey Mouse dailies by Gottfredson numbered 49 and 56. I wonder where the other books ended up.

The first Brer Rabbit sunday proof. Drawn by Paul Murry.

This scan is courtesy of Bill Peckmann. 

Also: Check out the story "Temporal Displacement", published by the Imp Press and posted HERE.

Bonus:
Here's something I found in my drawer while looking for the above Bill Wright items. An envelope addressed to Frank Reilly - Bill's old boss at the Comic Strip Dept.

Question: what does the following codes stand for?
WDP-173
R-3
68-A
228-S
Any Disney Studio expert out there who can enlighten the rest of us? :)

More from the Bill Wright collection and some snapshots of the True Life Adventures proofs found in the ablove envelope can be seen by clicking HERE.
/Joakim.