The Best Version Of You

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. Not every story Al Williamson did for Stan Lee was a masterpiece. After last week's triumph, this one certainly falls into the 'not inspired' category. And I don't think there is even an inker to blame. The story is unique, but also oddly unpersonal.

 

The Roaring Line

 Saturday Leftover Day.

Last week I sold a set of early 20th century magazine section pages with art ny Dan Smith. Somewhate forgotten these days, his line work was among the best of his time. The artist I sold this to, had gotten a set of originals from another artist and he had shared it with some of his friends and collegues, including Frank Cho - who has used it as a inspiration for  his work on Liverty Meadows and other projects.

This week I found a nice run of Sunday section pages in my mcirofiche source. These are just two mohts worth, but there will be others.

A New Age

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. 

With this amazing story, we see Al Williamson slowly turning from his initial Flegles/Frazetta influenc to the more starker contrasted Alex Raymond/John Prentice style that defined the second part of his career. No lizards, but very impressive.

 

The Chronicles Of B.

Saturday Leftover Day. 

Someone once told me who this guy signing with a B. is, but I forgot it. I like his style, though.

 

Yelling Wolf

Sunday Williamson Surprise. 

A short fantasy intermezzo from Journey Into Unknown Worlds. I can see why the lay-out and certain panels would suggest Al Williamson set this story up, but in the whole he left a lot up to his inker (probably Ralph Mayo again).

 

When You Are Wright...

Saturday Leftover Day. 

David Wright is an almost forgotten comic artist from the fifties and sixties, who is very much loved by those who do remember his work. For a long time he was never mentioned, but after someone from the family started artwork from his most succesful series Carol Day, his superb line work got the attention it deserved. Here's what the Dutch Comiclopedia has to say about him: 

"Pin-up painter David Wright created the newspaper strip 'Carol Day' in 1956. Wright was born in 1912 into an artistic dynasty - his parents were both artists. David Wright had a talent for drawing women, and therefore he became famous as a pin-up artist. His first pin-up appeared as a loose insert in 1941 in The Sketch magazine. Wright's first comics work, starring 'Kit Carson', appeared in Cowboy Picture Library #56 of July 1952. For Titbits, he created girl strips like 'Judy' (1953) and 'Jo'. In 1957 he did 'Danger Treads Softly', painted in black and white.

The 'Carol Day' strip debuted in the Daily Mail on 10 September 1956. It was a soap opera comic about a cool and elegant fashion model, which first ran in the Daily Mail (1956-1967), and then reappeared after Wright's death in the Sunday Express in 1971, at this point drawn by Kenneth Inns. His son Patrick Wright is also a comic artist." 

 I got a stack of Titbits issues from the fifties, four of which had an episode of Judy. Just as stunning and unique as his later work,

 

Around Twice a Month

Leftover Day. 

 

Followers of this blog will know I like movie ads that used comic strips or even comic strip ads that use movies. This daily series from 1941 falls under the latter category. In fact, it wasn't even a movie ad every week. On weeks there was no movie to plug, they used some kids and called ot Around Our Town. The artist is unknown.

When they did not have a movie to plug, the series reverted to Around Our Town. 

 

No Surprise Ending

Sunday Al Williamson Suprise. 

Another pure western story by the Al Williamson we know and love. Signed and probably inked by Ralph Mayo. And although the story is called The Lasst Notch, I can assure you that this certainly is not the last ime this plot will be used.