Tuesday, June 12, 2012

In Gott We trust

Tuesday Comic Strip Day.

Like many comic strip fans I think the work of Floyd Gottfredson is the tops. Unlike many of them, I do not believe his best work was done before the war. It's the whole of the forties that I like best. Here are some Sundays to prove that.

Or at least, that's what I thught. In the comment section Alberto remnded me that these Sundays are not by Gottfredson. They do have his swinging style, though. But the are by Manuel Gonzales and Bill Wright - - two excellent artists in their own right.

Gottfredson stopped drawing the Sundays in December 1938, and then only occasionally filled in for Gonzales when he was on vacation or ill. He only drew eleven Sundays from 1956-1976. I stand corrected.






















7 comments:

Alberto said...

Ger:

Whereas the two dailies you show are indeed by Gottfredson (with Dick Moores inking), the Sundays were drawn by Manuel Gonzales and Bill Wright - - two excellent artists in their own right.

Gottfredson stopped drawing the Sundays in December 1938, and then only occasionally filled in for Gonzales when he was on vacation or ill. He only drew eleven Sundays from 1956-1976.

Anyway, you're not the only one who thinks highly of Gottfredson in the 1940s. My friend Ulrich Schroeder likes his 1941 Mickey best... As for me, I prefer his classic Mickey (1934-37) and the way he drew the Mouse from 1947-55.

Best,
Alberto

Ger Apeldoorn said...

Well, I'd better rewrite that then.

Rich Clabaugh said...

Were the Sundays always just gag strips? I have been reading the Fantagraphics collections and love the 'adventure' Mickey!

Ger Apeldoorn said...

The Sundays were always solo gags as far as I know. I like them in a different way, especially the mostly silent ones. The dailies were srialized until late in the forties or even later. I have one of those up on my blog and I like them even better than the early ones.

Ger Apeldoorn said...

As Alberto said, Gottfredson drew the Mouse from 1947 to 1955. I gues most of those are longer stories.

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

Gottfredson was an extremely able artist through-out the time that he drew Mickey; but, regardless of who might have been drawing him, Mickey Mouse lost a great deal of his charm with the redesign of 1938/9 (not seen in an animated cartoon until The Pointer (1939), but used in still images before that).

Richard Ranke said...

Floyd Gottfredson's 1940s Mickeys are largely underrated. I am collecting the series of Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse stories and I have loved going through the stories of Eega Beeva-especially the story of the Atombrella, which ranks right up with the best of the 1930s stories. The next three volumes will have stories which have never been reprinted to my knowledge. Like Ger,I can hardly wait.