Friday, March 22, 2024

Funny as H.

Friday Satire Day. 

 Last year I published an article in the fanzine Hogan's Alley about the influence of cartoonist Harry Haenigsen on Dik Browne's advertising work. I had been working on that subject longer and had discovered that Haenigson had his own daily panel in the thirties which bore even a greater similarity to Browne's work than the many advertising pieces I had gather for the article. I am showing everything I got from 1936 and 1937 - but since clipping thise I discoverd that Haenigsen's daily satirical panels started way before that, so this is certainly not the of what I will be showing. Remarkably, altough Haenigsen's advertising work for Johnstone and Cushing in the late thirties and early forties (before he had to pull out for his newspaper strips Our Bill and Penny) could be couple one on one to Browne's advertising work for the same company after the war, these earlier multi-panel gags often seem to connect directly to Browne later style in Hägar the Horrible (especially all the incidental figures in that strip). After that I have a sprecil surprise: thee advertising panels in the Haenigson style signed Dik... but dating from a Canadian newspaper in 1934! Dik Brown would not yet have been 16 at that point, but the coïncidence is fascinating. I may have shown some of this before, but I am taking this opportunity to put them all together (and throw them of my computer to make room for other stuff).

2 comments:

  1. That's some wonderful stuff. I wonder if he was influenced by Gluyas Williams. There are certainly some panels that appear to have a Williams vibe to the artwork.

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  2. Yes, I had the same thought. Certainly the multi heads sequences. I would have to have a look at his earlier panels to see who was first (and then maybe if there was a common precursor). Then again, Williams started early, too.

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