A Modern Stone-Age Kid

Monday Caveman Day. I have a set of Peter Piltdown Sunday halves that I am selling on Ebay. After scanning them of course. I still have to clean half of them, but here is where I got so far. Peter Piltdown was a remarkable strip, at times quite unsentimental and very well drawn. Mal Eaton is probably best known for reusing the character and setting for a similar featre in Boy's Life's weekly faux Sunday section from 1954 till well into the sixties, onder the name Rocky Stoneaxe.

 

Can Ya See?

Saturday Leftover Day. 

I won't say I am a huge fan of Mal Eaton's work, but it has always stood out to me a the work of a very capable and funny artist. He is best known for the Peter Piltdown series he did for The New York Herald Tribune in the thorties and forties. Of course, many people will know he did a less adventurous version of this kid caveman strip in Boy's Life in the late fifties, called Rocky Stoneaxe. But did we know he started out doing caricatures from the first Life magazine (when it was still a cartoon magazine between the eighteen eighties to the nineteen thirties)? Well, if you didn't, you are excused, because he has no wikipedia page and others (like his Lambiek page and the wonderful write-up on Eaton's artistry with lots of original art on Inkslinger: https://inkslingers.ink/2021/08/09/mal-eatons-scratchy-big-feet/) only mention Peter Piltdown. So I went to my back-up drive and found some of his other stuff, if onoy to put the record straight.

Someone told me you can look at (and download) almost all the issues of Life between 1880 and 1940 somewhere on the internet. Leaving through 1922 and 1924 (looking for some other stuff) I came across these three caricatures Eaton did, recognizele from the style, but mostly from his unique signature.

After that, I have two samples of Peter Piltdown. As you can see, he started out quite tame, but in the forties, he really began to experiment with his storytelling. The second one is a photo from the 14 tearsheets I am currently selling on Ebay (cheaply). I guess I didn't bother to properly scan them, but maybe I should. Upon reflection, they are quite good.

After that I have a Rocky Stoneaxe. I actually have a huge stack of Boy's Life issues, which should get around to listing and selling sometime as well. I like this style less and it may have been a reason I didn't appreciate or scan the earlier Piltdowns.

In the mid forties Eaton also did a lot of other work. He was one of the many artists who drew for the Pepsi-Cola ads after Rube Goldberg left and before they ended up being handled by Stan Randell.

But most interestingly, he did a few one tier filler strips for the Herarld Tribune that I also failed to scan. I found one original online and as soon as I have found the the one or two in my collection, I will add them.

Ad Add

Wednesday Advertising Day.

An interesting selection of comic strip ads I took from the website of the Chicago Tribune. Most of these are from series I have covered before (and I intend to make 'complete' collections of each of them). It was interesting to see how many weekly ads in the daily format were made in 1948/1952, explaining how some of the talent involved filled their week.

First off a daily ad by Harry Haenigson. It is know he worked for Johnstone and Cushing and some people have proposed that some of the ads I have attributed to either Dik Browne or Gill Fox (or indeed the both together) in his style were by Haenigson himself. Here we see that he was a lot less slick than Browne and/or Fox made him out to be.

Several artists worked on the Bond Street ads that were always used underneath Lou Fine's Philip Morris series. But this is the first by Jack Betts I have seen. This, like the next one, may look like a daily ad, but it was in color and one tier.

Bond Street by Frank Robbins.

Camels by Jack Betts, another rarity.

Pul Fung sr. has been suggested for this ad series. It certainly is too early for Paul Fung Jr. to have drawn this.

Jack Betts again, possibly inked by someone else.

Despite the fact that I have gone back and forth about who might have drawn this, all signs now point toward Paul Fung Jr. who drew the magnificently animated Blondie Sundays in the fifties.

An artist working in this style signes it Sargent elswhere.

So here we have either Dik Browne of Gill Box or both doing Haenigson for this delightful series I though I had completed.

Nestlé was Jack Betts' bread and butter.

I wish I had a complete set of these longrunning Pepsi Cops. These seem to be by Mal Eaton.

This earlier color sample may be by the originator of the series, Rube Goldberg.

But this one is certainly by Goldberg. Most old comic book collectors know the strip, because like Captain Tootsie and Lou Fine's Wildroot ads, it was recut and used in many different comics of the forties.

Philip Morris by Lou Fine. Follow the link for a longer post with all I have.

Postum was Lou Fine's other account.

Stan Drake is supposed to have done the Ipana Sundays, so maybe he did this one too.

The Inbetweeners

Wednesday Advertising Day.

Here are some black and white ads I have been wanting to share for some time.

The Campbell's ad looks as if it could be by jack Betts, only a bit more realistic. Maybe a collaboration? The Tootsie ad is one in a long, long series that just has never been listed anywhere properly. I hope my leaving them here willy nilly will someday help someone compile a titled list. The Dr, Lyon's and Kylonos ads are by the great Frank Robins. I have more and in color if you follow the link. The Smith Brothers ad is either by Gill Fox or Dik Browne and the Pepsi Cops Ad is by Mal Eaton, one in a long line of artist to take over the series from Rube Goldberg.

Keystone Pepsi

Wednesday Advertising Day.

I have shown some of this series before and if I had more I'd show them too. The Pepsi Cops Ad series was originated by Rube Goldberg in the early forties and continued by a lot of artists after he left, including Chad Grothkopf, Mal Eaton and Stan Randell.