Early Bird Special

Saturday Leftover Day. For todays post I prepared something small but rare to add to my online collection of Hank Ketcham cartoons: some of what I believe are his first cartoons. They were published in the March and April issues of Gags and were probably drawn before he was drafted. We know Ketcham worked for Disney and left after the strike of 1942. Soon after he was drafted, and the first cartoons we know are from when het did a series about Half-Hitch, a demunitive sailor who he revived in the late sixties with a strip of his own. But these odd looking cartoons suggest he may have sold a couple before Uncle Sam got him as well. Three of these are in the multi panel format, which probably link back to his work as a gag cartoonist for Disney, along Virgil Partch (who also left and ended up being a free lance funny man). He did more for Gags all through the forties, mst of which you can find if you follow the link below. I have collected Hank Ketcham cartoons everywhere I came across them (including in the Laff-A-Day series of posts I have been doing the last few months. In fact, I stil have a bunch to clean. I believe I now have more of his cartoons together than are collected anywhere. And I know I am still only scratching the surface.

God Bless Adventure

Some years ago, I shared a long run of microfiche dailies and color Sundays of Dan Heilman's The American Adventure, a historical strip written by Bradford Smith and drawn by Heilman in the Milt Caniff style. I had three more stories in color Sunday form, but had stopped collecting the dailies (which continued the storyline). Recently I picked it up again and I am very proud to be able to present the first of the last three stories of this remarkable series. The microfiche dailies are from two different papers, one too light and one too dark - and both not complete online. I have added them again to help read the story. The story started and ended on a Tuesday. I tried to correct the one for 12-19, which took me about two hours and then I discovered I had even forgotten a piec in the right hand corner.

Hopping Through The Ages

Sunday Surprise day. For today's surprise I am showing quite a later strip than usual. Conrad is a mid eighties fantasy set in a fairy tale world of princesses, frogs and hairy godmothers. Artist Bill Schor was one of a host of political cartoonists who tried to follow Jeff McNelly's succes with his 1977 hit Shoe. I remember seeing this strip on my first trips to the US and being very impressed. I hope you enjoy them, there is more to come.