Today's fun comes from Four Color No. 233, June 1949; an all Bugs issue co-starring the overgrown baby, Elmer Fudd. I love the composition of this typically cool four-color cover by Ralph Heimdahl; and the story art is by Disney great, Tony Strobl. Mr. Strobl helped animate Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio. He went to work for Western Publishing in 1949 and contributed his wonderful cartooning in the pages of Four Color and other comics until 1968. The last three one-page stories in this post represent the front inside, back inside, and back outside covers. The artist on all three pages is Fred Abranz.
The artist identification for this post is provided by pal, Alberto Becattini via Grand Comic Book Database. Be sure to visit Alberto's site by clicking on his name!
Thanks for sharing. I can almost smell the mold. It's a weird thing, when I smell comic book mold it makes me happy, and gives me a nose bleed at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI like your back stories a lot too.
Have a great day
KW
I know what you mean! The smell of old comics is crazy comforting.
DeleteTony Strobl also drew some artwork for Western Publishing for storybooks, as well as some work for the "Disney Studio Program", producing comics for foreign Disney licensees from 1963 to his retirement in 1987. He also did the pencils for the Exxon educational Giveaway comic books Mickey Mouse and Goofy Explore Energy (1976),Mickey Mouse and Goofy Explore Energy Conservation and Mickey Mouse and Goofy Explore Business (both 1978).
ReplyDeleteDebbie Anne: Thanks for the info. The more I look at his work for Disney and with Disney characters on the Western Publishing comics, the more I like it.
ReplyDeleteFor a while, Tony Strobl seemed to be the second most prominent Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge artist at Western Publishing, even having the unenviable task of drawing new Uncle Scrooge stories after Carl Barks' retirement (before Uncle Scrooge went with mostly Barks reprints in the 70's and early 80's). I think it's a shame that Strobl's fun (if not perfect) Duck work gets swept under the rug too often (along with Paul Murry's Mickey Mouse stories).
ReplyDeleteDebbie: You are so right about plenty of Disney artists being overlooked. While I don't think it would be accurate to say that Barks is "overrated" - his work is magnificent and all praise to him is justified - yet his immense stature in the Disney/Western universe is so towering, plenty of extremely worthy talent gets a pass. Strobl is a perfect example. Murry might be an even finer case in point. I know more than one comic book expert that think Murry is the greatest Micky artist of all.
DeleteThanks for this Mykal! I see more and more digital comics, which might make for a great unscathed future collection, but I'll always miss the smell.
ReplyDeleteIt's the first thing I notice, like a great wine taster! I think I'm now at a level I can actually identify my comics by smell blindfolded! But seriously, it has always been an important factor, I'll sure miss it a lot when digital paper will be introduced. Thanks again Mykal!
Dave: My pleasure. Strange, I have gone over to Kindle for my novel reading (well, most of it anyway); but nothing will ever replace the tactile experience of a printed comic book.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I must say, Dave, you do some amazing work digitally as well!
ReplyDeleteI recommend that everyone should check out Dave's sites in the sidebar!
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks Mykal! :)
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