Hairy Green Eyeball II

Goodbye...and hello again

2011-02-14T00:26:00.000-08:00

For a variety of reasons I'm moving this blog, beginning a new volume of postings.

You can go to the new blog, all set up, shiny and new, with a posting of the entire first issue of CREEPY, scanned from my copy, bought off the stands when it also was shiny and brand new.

Hairy Green Eyeball 3

Look for our snappy new logo.

Remember to bookmark the site. This blog, as well as the original Hairy Green Eyeball site, will still be available so you can dig through the archives. There's a lot of great stuff there, so help yourselves. I will also be checking back periodically for any comments you care to leave on any of the postings.

Thanks again! HGE

More cartoons from Colliers

2011-02-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

Here is another set of cartoons from COLLIERS magazine, collected in the 1946 book, I MEET SUCH PEOPLE, by COLLIERS cartoon editor, Gurney Williams. These are by some of the greatest cartoonists of that era.

I'm slow to get around to this, because I showed the first set of cartoons in June, 2010. You can find it here.

Hooray for Horror-Wood

2011-02-07T00:32:00.000-08:00

I don't think enough people, even Wallace Wood fans, say enough about his ability to letter. The title lettering from these three early MAD features showcase how exciting his display lettering could be. I've enlarged the titles so you can get a better look at his intricate design work.

The artwork in the stories is great, too. His work with gray tones, specifically his Craftint work (originals shown with the missile pages from MAD #47) was very skillful, and gave his work an added depth.

MAD reprints Copyright © 1999, 2011 E. C. Publications, Inc.

Original art scans Copyright © Heritage Auctions

Crème de la Crumb

2011-02-03T00:06:00.000-08:00

When you consider whether something is a work of art based on an auction value, you can get a mixed message. For instance, Heritage Auctions has sold some pages and covers by R. Crumb for very attractive prices. These three pieces are in Heritage's current archival listings, along with the prices realized at auction:

Big Ass Comics #2 page - $35,850

Motor City Comics #1 cover - $56,762.50

Mr Natural #1 page - $21,510

All of them are out of my price range, but seem like fair prices in today's market. So I'm surprised that the 15-page "Fritz The Cat Superstar," from 1972, complete and intact, has been listed as unsold since 2002. All of these--and a couple more--are available at the Heritage Auctions web site.

All scans are Copyright © Heritage Auctions

Yarmak is the Pitts'

2011-01-31T00:02:00.000-08:00

Yarmak is a Tarzan-influenced character who came out of Australian comic books in the 1940s. An article by John Ryan from an issue of Bill Schelly's fanzine, SENSE OF WONDER Number 12, explains the history of the character. Stanley Pitt has connections to the U.S., with his major influence being Alex Raymond. After the scans of YARMAK #6 I have included three scans of original art by Pitt, all fantastic Flash Gordon illustrations in the Alex Raymond style.

The original Hairy Green Eyeball blog contains a Stanley Pitt story for the American comic, THE WITCHING HOUR here.

Pitt died in 2002.

My thanks to the anonymous scanner who put together this Yarmak package, where I was able to access it on the Internet. If you were the person who did it please let me know and I will give you credit.

The illustrations for SENSE OF WONDER are by the late Don Newton. The Stanley Pitt Flash Gordon original art scans came from Heritage Auctions.

YARMAK Copyright © 1949 Young's Merchandising Co., Sydney, Australia

SENSE OF WONDER Copyright © Bill Schelly

Flash Gordon artwork scans Copyright © Heritage Auctions

Robert Day

2011-01-27T00:38:00.000-08:00

Robert Day was a freelance cartoonist whose work mainly appeared in THE NEW YORKER. His first cartoon was published there in 1931, and his last in 1976. These cartoons are scanned from the book, THE NEW YORKER 1955-1965 ALBUM.

Day died at age 84 in 1985.

Copyright © 1965 The New Yorker, Inc.

Garth Williams original art scans

2011-01-24T00:08:00.000-08:00

The illustrations by Garth Williams for the children's classic, CHARLOTTE'S WEB, were auctioned off by Heritage Auctions. I love these illustrations; which are nostalgic to me. Seeing scans of the original art is inspiring to artists and illustrators, as well as fans of children's book art.

I have included the amounts listed as winning bids by Heritage.

CHARLOTTE'S WEB art copyright © 2011 by the respective copyright holders.

Scans of Garth Williams' original art copyright © 2011 Heritage Auctions

$155,350 (Price included dust jacket, two watercolor roughs and web design endpapers)

$4,929.38

$19,120

$6,500

$20,315

$5,000

$10,755

$11,950

$13,145

$33,460

$6871.25

$11,352.50

$13,145

$17,327

$33,460

$6,572.50

$3,346

$23,900

$3,883.75

$38,837.50

$10,456.25

$11,500

$95,600

$41,825.00

Up the river with Alley Oop

2011-01-20T00:06:00.000-08:00

V. T. Hamlin's Alley Oop goes back to the South before the Civil War, meets and runs afoul of gambler Texas Jack East, wins a riverboat and loses it in this time travel sequence from 1957. As I've mentioned before, Alley Oop is one of my favorite comic strips. Strips shown are from February 13, 1957 to May 2, 1957.

Alley Oop Copyright © 1957 NEA Service, Inc.

The JFK Comic Book

2011-01-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Sid Jacobson, who was the editor of Harvey Comics, has written several books since Harvey quit publishing. The 9/11 Report with artist Ernie Colon (Richie Rich) is one. In 1963 he and artist Howie Post (Hot Stuff, Spooky) collaborated on this satire of the Kennedy administration, published just months before the assassination.

I'd like to thank David Miller for sharing yet another incredible piece of comics/graphics history with the scans he provided.

There's more information on Sid Jacobson here. Howard Post died in 2010 at age 83.

Copyright © 1963 Sid Jacobson and Howard Post

Freelancer

2011-01-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

FREELANCER was a 1950s publication for people who made their living in the print industry, writers, artists, etc. Issue #2 features an article on Jack Cole and a short history of comics, #4 from 1957 has an article on the "suicide" of the comic book industry in 1954, and another on Mort Walker of "Beetle Bailey" fame.

Dave Miller provided these scans from his copies of FREELANCER, and thanks, Dave!

I've also scanned a few pages from Mort Walker's 2000 memoir, MORT WALKER'S PRIVATE SCRAPBOOK, showing that his path to cartooning success was set early in life. He was something of a prodigy, based on these examples he did as a teenager.

FREELANCER Copyright © by respective copyright holders.

MORT WALKER'S PRIVATE SCRAPBOOK Copyright © 2000 Mort Walker.

More Virgil Finlay's Strange Science

2011-01-10T00:08:00.000-08:00

Here are more exquisite pen-and-ink renderings by Virgil Finlay from the 1992 first edition of VIRGIL FINLAY'S STRANGE SCIENCE.

There are more drawings here.

Copyright © 1992 Lael Finlay Hernandez

Pussycat, the number one and only

2011-01-06T00:02:00.000-08:00

PUSSYCAT is another of my favorite silver age comics. A one-shot, it came out in 1968, reprinting comic book stories from Martin Goodman's line of men's magazines.

The Grand Comics Database doesn't index the magazine, but the first story is by Wally Wood. The second story's artist I don't recognize. Bill Everett did the cover and centerfold, Jim Mooney drew the last story, and Bill Ward did the bulk of Pussycat's five-page adventures. The writer is unknown.

PUSSYCAT Copyright © 1968 Marvel Comics, Inc.

Pussycat part 2

2011-01-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

A new year, and A New Leash On Life

2011-01-03T00:09:00.000-08:00

I showed the scans of this excellent book a couple of years go in the original Hairy Green Eyeball blog. Carl Rose's pen and brush drawings perfectly complement Richard Grossman's 1950 fantasy of a returning war veteran, the service dog, Herman Boxer. It's got caricatures of celebrities and politicians of the day, and it's got the Cold War.

A NEW LEASH ON LIFE Story by Richard Grossman, Pictures by Carl Rose. First Printing, 1950.

Copyright © 1950 Richard Grossman and Carl Rose

Captain George's Comic World

2010-12-30T00:03:00.000-08:00

This is a re-post from the original Harry Green Eyeball blog.

Captain George was a publisher/store owner from Canada, who did some reprints of classic comics and pulp material in the late 1960s. These illustrations are from CAPTAIN GEORGE'S COMIC WORLD #16.

Thanks to Dave Miller for digitally splicing together the Wally Wood illustration.

See you in the New Year!

Worst from Mad Sunday funnies

2010-12-27T00:08:00.000-08:00

THE WORST FROM MAD #4, from 1961, had a great insert: a full-size 8-page comic strip section. It's not only great satire on popular comic strips of the day, but nostalgic for those of us who remember those big pages from our Sunday newspapers, classic comics full of wonderful artwork.

I can see Wally Wood's distinctive work in several strips, but don't know who did any other artwork.

I took these scans from the four-CD set, TOTALLY MAD, from 1999.

Copyright © 1961, 1999 E.C. Publications, Inc.

Tenggren's Little Match Girl

2010-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

What's Christmas without a sentimental tale? In this case, this is at least a two-hanky weeper courtesy of Hans Christian Andersen and the great illustrator, Gustav Tenggren. This adaptation was published in 1944, and is revisionist, changing the death of the little girl into a tale of rescue. Thank goodness for that, because two hankies is all I own.

Merry Christmas to all.

The Martian part 3

2010-12-23T00:04:00.000-08:00

This is the conclusion, Part 3 of the British comic strip adaptation of the famous book, A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published as "The Martian" in 1958 and 1959 issues of SUN. Part 1 was last Thursday, part 2 was last Monday.

The Martian part 2

2010-12-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of the British comic strip adaptation of the famous book, A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published as "The Martian" in 1958 and 1959 issues of SUN. Part 1 was last Thursday, part 3, the conclusion, will be posted this Thursday.

The Martian part 1

2010-12-16T00:08:00.000-08:00

This is a British comic strip adaptation of the famous book, A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs, published as "The Martian" in 1958 and 1959 issues of SUN. I found this online. Artist and scripter unknown.

Parts 2 and 3 will be posted Monday and next Thursday.

The King Who Learned To Smile

2010-12-13T00:02:00.000-08:00

Gordon Laite, who illustrated the children's book, THE KING WHO LEARNED TO SMILE, was born in 1925. You can see other examples of his work here and here.

Seymour Reit, who wrote the book, was well known as a writer who also did stints in animation and even co-created Casper the Friendly Ghost. As Sy Reit He wrote many pages for MAD. He also wrote over 80 books for young readers. Reit died in 2001 at age 83.

THE KING WHO LEARNED TO SMILE Copyright © 1960 by Golden Press, Inc.

More All-American art of cartooning

2010-12-09T00:06:00.000-08:00

More from THE ALL-AMERICAN ART CARTOONING, from 1944. See Monday's posting for the first part.

Copyright © 1944 Higgins Ink Co.

The All-American art

2010-12-06T00:29:00.000-08:00

This is a re-post from the original Hairy Green Eyeball blog, September, 2008:

Higgins Ink put out this great book on cartooning during World War II. Although it was reprinted up into the 1960s, I made the scans from a coverless copy of the original printing, which I have owned for many years.

I think it's not only instructional, it was one of the first books I ever owned that told me of comic strips and cartooning from before I was born.

THE ALL-AMERICAN ART CARTOONING Copyright © 1944 Higgins Ink Co.

Early Cracked magazine

2010-12-02T00:04:00.000-08:00

MAD competitor CRACKED magazine (or "mazagine" as it was later called) was aimed at a slightly younger audience than MAD. CRACKED #13 is notable because it uses artists like Jack Davis, Will Elder and a classic page by Russ Heath, along with CRACKED regulars Bill Ward ("McCartney"), John Severin, Don Orehek and Vic Martin. Harry Chester did production, and some pages look like HUMBUG, for which Chester also did production.

Paul Laikin was the editor during this period, and has his detractors amongst fans of humor magazines, but for me this is a good issue of CRACKED.

Copyright © 1960 Major Magazines, Inc.

Gahan Wilson 1973 Part 4

2010-11-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

Enter into the darkest month of the year with the darkest humor. Gahan Wilson continues with his macabre and mad machinations from PLAYBOY'S GAHAN WILSON.

More here, here, and here.

Copyright © 1973 PLAYBOY

The forgotten Warren magazine...

2010-11-25T00:02:00.000-08:00

While vamping young guys with Vampirella and creeping us out with Uncle Creepy, publisher Jim Warren also published three issues of TEEN LOVE STORIES, a magazine aimed at girls. The comic strips the magazine used were, quoting from THE WARREN COMPANION (2001), "comprise[d of] . . . reprints from British romance comics published by Fleetway. The long strips in each issue were re-sized reprintings of strips from either of their digest-sized Picture Library Titles: True Life Library or Love Story Library." . . . Sellectiones Illustrada [sic]* provided most of the artwork for Fleetway's romance line, though these reprintings predate their formal publishing relationship with Warren by several years. Jim Warren obtained the strips directly from Fleetway . . ."

*Actually spelled Selecciones Ilustradas.

This is TEEN LOVE STORIES #1, 1967.

Copyright © 1967 Warren Publishing Co.

Part 2 is just below.

TEEN LOVE STORIES continued

2010-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of TEEN LOVE STORIES No. 1 gives us another UK comic story and Twiggy, who was just about the hottest thing on the celebrity scene in 1967. You can also read a pseudo-psychedelic ad for the Davy Jones fan club, and get advice from a nurse on why you should lie to your boyfriend when you are having your period.

Jack Davis' Yak Yak #2

2010-11-22T00:29:00.000-08:00

This is the second issue of Jack Davis' solo comic book, YAK YAK, a 1962 Dell Comic with numbering from their Four Color series.

Issue #1 can be found here.

Copyright © 1962 Western Printing and Lithographing Company

Groovy

2010-11-18T00:12:00.000-08:00

GROOVY was an interesting experiment published by Marvel, a hybrid cartoon magazine/comic book. It had single panel cartoons, and no comic book-style contents, but it was printed like a comic book, comic book-sized, with a 12 cent price. Grand Comics Database lists three issues of this title, all in 1968, but only gives contents information for this issue.

I think GROOVY was one of those neither-fish-nor-fowl creations; people looking for cartoon books wouldn't be looking on the comic book spinners, and comic book fans weren't looking for single panel cartoons.

GROOVY Copyright © 1968 Atlas Magazines, Inc.

Puss In Boots

2010-11-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

This adaptation of the familiar Perrault fairy tale is credited to Evalyn Kinkead, with illustrations by E. Probst. I believe this is Edith Probst, an artist about whom I know nothing. The paintings are very good, though, with that strong 1960s flair for exaggeration and stylized figures.

PUSS IN BOOTS Copyright © 1965 McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, London.

Illustrations © 1964 International Copyright Institute, Luxembourg.

Mexican horrors!

2010-11-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

This a re-post from the original Hairy Green Eyeball blog 2008:

There are things that scare me about Mexico: being caught in the crossfire of a drug war, the water, and being held in a scissor lock between a lady wrestler's muscular thighs. (Actually, that doesn't sound all that bad...)

The things I love about Mexico are sunny beaches, friendly people, Day of the Dead, tequila and Mexican horror movies. With that in mind, here are some great lobby cards found on the Internet:

JUDGE not, lest ye be judged...

2010-11-09T00:33:00.000-08:00

Cartoons from JUDGE magazine, July 25, 1931. Scans by Dave Miller from his collection. Thanks, Dave!

Tipping the Hatlo hat

2010-11-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

A dozen panels from the genius Jimmy Hatlo and his "They'll Do It Every Time" panel. These are scanned from the book of the same name, published by David McKay Company in 1943.

Copyright © 1941, 1942, 1943 King Features Syndicate

Copyright © 1943 David McKay Company

The EC Revolution

2010-11-02T00:09:00.000-07:00

Chapter Four from COMIX: A HISTORY OF COMIC BOOKS IN AMERICA by Les Daniels.

Copyright © 1971 Les Daniels and Mad Peck Studios.

The Halloween Menace

2010-10-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is the last of my Halloween week offerings for 2010. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Unknown to the talent appearing in this 1953 issue of MENACE #6, an Atlas comic, was that to us fans of the future they would all be legends of comic art. The stories are written by Stan Lee, the artists are Bill Everett, Gene Colan, Russ Heath and John Romita. Not a bad all-star lineup!

Original copyright © 1953 Hercules Publishing Corp.

Famous Monsters #4, part 2

2010-10-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the second part of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #4, which is the first issue of FMOF I ever saw as a kid, and once having seen it was an instant fan.

In this part of the issue, Karloff as the Mummy, Zacherley, and Christopher Lee. There are also the ads, including the ad for 3-D comics. I bought them from an ad in FM, and still have some of them to this day.

Thanks again to the person who scanned this classic issue and made it available online.

Originally copyright © 1959 Central Publications, Inc.

Famous Monsters #4, part 1

2010-10-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

For Halloween week we've got a copy of one of my favorites, FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND. This issue, #4, was the first one I bought in 1959. This isn't my copy, which is long gone, but a digital copy I found on the Internet. Re-reading it I can see what I liked about it as a kid, because I still like it as an adult. Forrest J. Ackerman's cornball punning humor is perfect for this magazine. The magazine upset a lot of parents and educators (there is some mention of that in this issue), but any adult reading it would quickly see it posed no threat to children; it just made them laugh, like it did me.

Thanks to the person who originally scanned and posted this online.

Today is part 1. Look for part 2 on Wednesday, October 27.

Original copyright © 1959 Central Publications, Inc.

Remember to come back Wednesday for the second half of this magazine.

The origin of the Cryptkeeper

2010-10-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

This is a reposting from the original Hairy Green Eyeball site, October, 2008:

I enjoy comparing original art to the printed product. In this case, a great story for Halloween, Jack Davis' origin of the Crypt Keeper.

In 1952 Davis began his long association with MAD, from #1 on a few months earlier than this appearance in TALES FROM THE CRYPT #33, Dec. 1952-Jan. 1953. This story shows the grotesque and ghoulish humor that EC Comics and Davis were famous for, and which he used so effectively in MAD.

Copyright © 1953-2008 by the respective copyright holders

...like Tom Thumb's blues...

2010-10-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

This attractive 12-page booklet, TOM THUMB, is illustrated by Eulalie Banks, who signed her name Eulalie. From the look of it I'm sure it's part of a larger set of pamphlets, published by Platt & Munk in 1934.

Born in England, Eulalie did most of her work in California. She was born in 1895 and died in 1999 at age 104.

Copyright © 1934 The Platt & Munk Co., Inc.

Lawson Wood's Gran'pop and the gang

2010-10-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

The British illustrator Lawson Wood did calendars featuring Gran'pop the orangutan for many years. I found this one, minus the calendar, at an antiques fair.

Wood, who was born in 1878, died in 1957.

Rick Geary's "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment"

2010-10-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

In July I showed you another story by the fabulous cartoonist/illustrator Rick Geary, "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. This is another adaptation by Geary, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, scanned from THE BANK ST. BOOK OF FANTASY.

Copyright © 1989 Byron Preiss Visual Associates, Inc.