Jimmy Thompson Appreciation Thread 1 1

[BangZoom]

 

 

[Scrooge]

[adamstrange]

Outstanding!!

 

What issue is that from?

[PaulTumey]

Outstanding BangZoom, you made my week!!!!

 

Christmas came early today. Thank you, man!

 

Unh, any chance you could let me know which issue this was? #24?

 

If anyone is interested, lots of Thompson's Timely stories can be found at this posting, "The Greatest Comic Book Artist You Never Heard Of- The Timely Stories

 

http://comicbookattic.blogspot.com/2011/05/greatest-comic-book-artist-you-never.html

[BangZoom]

What issue is that from?

 

King Comics #26

[sfcityduck]

BangZoom is my nominee for the "Poster Who Most Spreads The Joy of Comics and Pulps EVER"!

[PaulTumey]

Sure wish I could enter that contest and maybe win an original drawing by Jimmy Thompson!

 

Here's a couple of covers from 1948, much later in his career:

 

 

 

 

[PaulTumey]

Thanks for the issue number, BangZoom. Much appreciated!

[generic user]

wow. that's certainly not how i pictured him

[adamstrange]

Outstanding BangZoom, you made my week!!!!

 

Christmas came early today. Thank you, man!

 

Unh, any chance you could let me know which issue this was? #24?

 

If anyone is interested, lots of Thompson's Timely stories can be found at this posting, "The Greatest Comic Book Artist You Never Heard Of- The Timely Stories

 

http://comicbookattic.blogspot.com/2011/05/greatest-comic-book-artist-you-never.html

 

I've been reading your blog for a while even before you joined the Board. You do a great job and folks should check out the link and browse through your other posts.

[PaulTumey]

Thanks, Adam, for the kind comments on my blogs. Here's another Jimmy Thompson beauty for the this thread. This one is from Jimmy Wakely #1, (DC, 1949). At the end of his career, Thompson returned to his favorite subject, the American Indian. Note the fascinating autobiographical detail that this is a first-hand account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jbcomicbox]

Here is a piece of original art I have from him from Heroic Comics.....

 

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=296536&GSub=5092

 

 

jb

[*paull*]

Jimmy Thomspon is new to me, but man... what a fine illustrator. I really like his work.

[generic user]

ok, trying to find a semi-PC way to broach this subject (which ain't easy when you're a honky cat like me).

 

Here's how this thread started:

 

Thompson was one of the earliest African-American artists working in comics...

 

then:

 

We have just recently heard from Ron Goulart that he recalls seeing an actual photo of Jimmy Thompson. His exact words: "I used to have an issue of King Comics or one of the other McKay's and it had a picture of Thompson judging a contest involving one of his Indain pages. "

 

and BangZoom provided this picture:

 

 

There's nothing in the copy of the contest winner page indicating that this is Thompson, and I've never seen another photo of him. So my question is: Are were sure this man is Thompson?

 

[BB-Gun]

Sure wish I could enter that contest and maybe win an original drawing by Jimmy Thompson!

 

Here's a couple of covers from 1948, much later in his career:

 

 

 

His style seems to work very well with teen comedy and it reminds me of art by Montana. Too bad he never got a shot at Archie.

 

[PaulTumey]

Ah, the Mysterious Mr. Thompson.

 

Some months ago, we noted adamstrange's extremely interesting comment about Jimmy O. Thompson being an African American and I asked him about that. He wasn't totally sure where he had heard that, but felt it was from a authoritative source. The only bio I know of about Jimmy Thompson is Ron Goulart's, from The Great Comic Book Artists (and also from his fanzine). He doesn't mention Thompson's ethnicity.

 

Next, we asked Roy Thomas and Ron Goulart about whether Jimmy Thompson was an African American.

 

Roy said he hadn't heard that, and it seemed like he would have heard that mentioned when he was at DC, since Thompson worked for DC a long time and there were very few folks there at the time of African American heritage. He said any African American employees would have stood out and been remembered. But he wasn't 100% sure.

 

We asked Ron Goulart about this, and he said Thompson was not African American. He based this on the photo he mentioned to us.

 

We're not 100% sure this is Thompson in the photo. However... if it's not, who else could it be? Alexander McKay (David's son, who ran the company when Jimmy worked there)? The night custodian? Since the book was a reprint book, probably cut and pasted together by one person in at a desk in a small office, it's hard to think of who else this could be, and why the publisher would suggest that was Thompson when it wasn't... as that could backfire on them if they ever needed to promote Jimmy again (they didn't, as far as I know, but in 1938, it was anyone's guess as to how big a hit a comic would be).

 

It seems to be a photo of Thompson judging the contest, as advertised I think it's a pretty safe assumption that it's Thompson --- but yes, it's an assumption.. Since Ruth Plumly Thompson (the editor, no relation to Jimmy as far as we have so far determined) was promoting Jimmy Thompson and the "Redmen" feature, it makes sense they would include a photo of him.

 

Until we can unearth more information, we won't know for sure. The possibility exists that we will never know for sure if this is indeed a photo of the Mysterious Mr. Thompson.

 

We are sending BZ's photo of the page from King Comics #26 to Ron Goulart to see what he has to say about it, and if he can confirm that this is indeed Jimmy Thompson.

 

That's where we are in this moment. Perhaps in time something will surface to clear of the matter of Jimmy's identity and ethnic heritage. Based on his extremely knowledgeable and sensitive stories about American Indian culture, I sorta expected him to turn out to be of Indian descent!

 

Any further thoughts or information on the Mysterious Mr. Thompson are indeed welcome by me!

 

Thanks to everyone here for your help and interest. This is fun!

 

- Paul Tumey

Edited December 23, 2011 by PaulTumey

[adamstrange]

Nice summary, Paul.

 

Given my search for info about Jimmy turned up no more than what you found, no one should make any assumption based on my unsupported recollection. It would be great if there were family members we could contact to find out more about him, though his common first name and last name would not make that easy to do.

[PaulTumey]

Thanks, adamstrange. There are sure some nice folks on this Board. I appreciate everyone's insights and observations.

 

Just for fun, here's another lovely splash page by Jimmy Thompson. This is from Detective Comics 147 (May, 1949). Happy holidays, everyone.

 

 

[BangZoom]

 

Beautiful splash page.

 

Here are a couple more pages from that story..

 

 

 

[rodan57]

We're not 100% sure this is Thompson in the photo. However... if it's not, who else could it be? Alexander McKay (David's son, who ran the company when Jimmy worked there)? The night custodian? Since the book was a reprint book, probably cut and pasted together by one person in at a desk in a small office, it's hard to think of who else this could be, and why the publisher would suggest that was Thompson when it wasn't... ...

 

It seems to be a photo of Thompson judging the contest, as advertised I think it's a pretty safe assumption that it's Thompson --- but yes, it's an assumption..

 

- Paul Tumey

 

To perhaps muddy the waters a bit ...

 

From the text published there doesn't seem to be a definitive statement that Thompson was judging the contest. "Judges" are mentioned.

 

If Thompson was African-American, and given the racism of the period, there might be little incentive for the company to promote such a fact.

 

One might also speculate upon the nature of the strips posted here: Native Americans and a Robot Man --characters strong within their own societies but facing judgement in the world in general.