CAROL DAY - the Lance Hallam project 0

[The Voord]

The thing about UK newspaper strips is that they usually appeared in single tabloids.  Depending on what newspapers your parents bought, there are a lot of great strips you would probably not have been exposed to as kids whose childhoods concentrated on collecting comic-books.  My dad was a Daily Mirror reader, which carried the Garth strip.  Carol Day was something I'd never heard of until recent years, when original artworks started to appear on CAF thanks to people like Roger Clarke who began to offer them up to an American audience.

This newly-published reprint edition focuses on a very early Carol Day serial, Lance Hallam.  An American friend, Chris Killackey, had fallen in love with the strip and, in particular, the Lance Hallam storyline, and had began trying to put the OA for the story back together again.  He mostly succeeded, either acquiring the originals for his collection, or locating high-res scans of art other collectors were loathe to part with.  Only a small handful of dailies eluded him.

Chris, in collaboration with Roger Clarke and Guy Mills, have now produced a beautifully realized oversized hardback collection that collects the Lance Hallam story at full-size of the original strips . . . along with other content such as essays and a gallery of Carol Day illustrations as interpreted by some of today's current artists.

The book's a large 19.5" x 14" size, running at a little over 150 pages.  No expense has been spared on production values . . . which are top-notch.

David Wright's illustrations are exquisite.  If you're open to other artistic efforts beyond your own areas of nostalgic interest, the Lance Hallam project is a good introduction to the high-standards of strip-illustration that can or have been achieved outside your own comfort zones.  I'm enclosing a smattering of photographs taken from the book . . . the illustrations should speak for themselves.

This is a very expensive book, limited to 500 copies.  Price discovery (£299 in the UK) was a real jaw-dropper for me . . . but now that the book's in my hands, I do consider it worth the price of admission.

The prime-mover behind Lance Hallam, Chris Killackey, is someone I'd class as a good friend and super-nice guy, impossible not to like.  Some years back, I met him in London, where he was vacationing with his family, to drop off an expensive EC cover he was purchasing from me at the time.  Usually, I tend to be a bit cautious around people I'm meeting for the first time . . . but with Chris he greeted me at his hotel with a big smile that instantly put me at ease . . . and insisted we go for a few beers and talk 'art'.  After steering me towards a nice quiet pub, I was further surprised to discover that Chris, like me, was a Guinness drinker!  I'd fetched along, in addition to the EC cover I was selling, some UK strip originals I thought he might be interested in seeing . . . introducing him to some home-grown (UK) talents.  Chris was very open to making new discoveries and came away from our meet-up wanting to learn more about the likes of Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy . . . OA examples from which he would later add to his (impressive) collection.

With Carol Day, Chris returned the favor . . . opening my eyes up to something I'd been totally unaware of until he started posting originals on his CAF galleries . . . and I thank him for that, as I would eventually add some Carol Day examples to my own collection.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by The Voord

[alxjhnsn]

I simply cannot agree more with your review of this book. Carol Day is an outstanding strip - both story and art - and David Wright's Carol Day - Lance Hallam is spectacular. It's well worth the $350 (US) that it costs in my opinion. The link will take you to the "buy" page. There's a link to an eBay store for US buyers and instructions for international buyers.

Among my book collection, for pure joy of owning and reading, this ranks with my copy of The Art of Richard W. Sprang which was also produced by a collector on a mission. This is as high as I can praise Chris' Carol Day book. 

Now I need to meet the team and get them to sign it. I wish that had been a purchase option.

[alxjhnsn]

Oh, I hope they do another. I'm especially interested in my favorite story - Problem Child.

I deeply regret not buying all of the (admittedly low scan) ebooks from Roger when they were on Amazon. Sadly, he withdrew them due to lack of sales, I think.

[comix4fun]

Couldn't agree more, this is an edition that is so lavishly produced it's impossible to define it as anything other than a labor of love. There's so much love, attention, care, and respect that went into not just assembling the works of art, but into commissioning artists like Brian Bolland (who did the cover), Sook, Stevens, Love, Mooneyham, Pope and others to contribute new images, and also the over the top of the top end production values. 

The book is the Rolls Royce of Artist Edition-style compilations. It's that good. 

Chris Killackey introduced me to Carol Day as well and I am so grateful that he did. These strips are wonderful and they deserve the bright spotlight he's put on them. This book and its contents are a real treasure. 

[alxjhnsn]

My first Carol Day exposure came from Aaron N.'s CAF gallery where my favorite strip is housed (click to see it on the CAF):

It has to be the creepiest comic strip that I've ever seen while also being an outstandingly beautiful rendering. Wow.

That led me to buying Roger Clark's e-book of the story (sadly no longer available) and the buying of two strips from Roger from that story (click to see on the CAF):

David Wright did wonderful work.
 

[The Voord]

On 4/29/2023 at 3:55 PM, alxjhnsn said:

Oh, I hope they do another. I'm especially interested in my favorite story - Problem Child.

I deeply regret not buying all of the (admittedly low scan) ebooks from Roger when they were on Amazon. Sadly, he withdrew them due to lack of sales, I think.

Problem Child is an outstanding CD serial, drenched in atmosphere and disturbing imagery.  Chris Killackey deserves to own the Lance Hallam OA, but one day I'd love to own something from Problem Child, which is now dispersed among collectors.  Nearest I've got is . . . 

From the 1959 CAROL DAY story, 'Ebb-Tide' (with a special guest appearance from the Problem Child).

Particularly like that last panel.

 

[The Voord]

My other CD daily . . . 

From the 'Friedrich Kahlenberg' storyline which ran during 1962. Interesting balance going on between the depictions of Carol and Joe in frames 1 and 3; one fully lit, the other showing the characters reversed and in silhouette. Nice POV shot in the middle.

 

[bhuangnc]

Reiterating everything that’s already been said here. This collection was truly a labor of love for its creators, and you can see it in the thought and attention to detail that went into every aspect of the book’s design and production. As a Carol Day fan and former caretaker of a few of the Lance Hallam strips, I’m extraordinarily happy with what a stunning object that Chris, Roger, and Guy have created. It’s virtually perfect in every way and worth every penny of its admittedly hefty price tag. Kudos to them!

Edited April 30, 2023 by bhuangnc

[zstarmanz]

Terry, thanks for starting this thread with such a wonderful post! And Chris, Alex, and Brian, we very much appreciate you chiming in with your comments! After 2, almost 3 years, of effort, we're very pleased to finally be able to have the book in hand! Our goal was to give David Wright and what we consider to be a masterpiece of comic strip art, Lance Hallam, a top-flight, art book treatment. Our priority was to reproduce the story at the same size and quality as its originals, so that we could faithfully replicate the experience of reading the story from the original art. And we wanted to do that in such a way that the resulting book would represent the definitive edition of one of David Wright's very best stories. This meant endeavoring to put the story in context with articles, commissions from contemporary artists, and reproducing not only the art, but also the boards to give a complete sense of the originals and Wright's process. Lastly, we were very fortunate to top it off with a cover by Carol Day super-fan, Brian Bolland, a great comics artist whom all three of us (Chris, Roger and me) greatly admire. Enough for now. My main point is to thank all of you for your comments and support! Guy Mills 

[Chris K.]

Terry! I echo Guy's comment about starting this thread and so appreciate seeing Chris, Alex & Ben contribute to it.

Alex - as to your question about whether we will put out another book...we're already working on the next volume! You can visit the Project Dashboard page of our website for further details here https://www.carol-day.com/dashboard/ 

Safe to say we are on the hunt for scans for future volumes, Problem Child among them!

[alxjhnsn]

On 4/30/2023 at 4:19 PM, zstarmanz said:

Terry, thanks for starting this thread with such a wonderful post! And Chris, Alex, and Brian, we very much appreciate you chiming in with your comments! After 2, almost 3 years, of effort, we're very pleased to finally be able to have the book in hand! Our goal was to give David Wright and what we consider to be a masterpiece of comic strip art, Lance Hallam, a top-flight, art book treatment. Our priority was to reproduce the story at the same size and quality as its originals, so that we could faithfully replicate the experience of reading the story from the original art. And we wanted to do that in such a way that the resulting book would represent the definitive edition of one of David Wright's very best stories. This meant endeavoring to put the story in context with articles, commissions from contemporary artists, and reproducing not only the art, but also the boards to give a complete sense of the originals and Wright's process. Lastly, we were very fortunate to top it off with a cover by Carol Day super-fan, Brian Bolland, a great comics artist whom all three of us (Chris, Roger and me) greatly admire. Enough for now. My main point is to thank all of you for your comments and support! Guy Mills 

Guy, when is the book signing tour? 
 

Seriously, do you, @Chris K., and Roger attend cons?

[zstarmanz]

Hi Alex,

On 4/30/2023 at 2:45 PM, alxjhnsn said:

Guy, when is the book signing tour? 
 

Seriously, do you, @Chris K., and Roger attend cons?

No book signing tour in the cards yet... ;-)

As for cons, yes, we're all experienced con-goers, especially pre-pandemic. Getting back into the swing of cons is certainly something we're discussing.

[alxjhnsn]

On 4/30/2023 at 7:50 PM, zstarmanz said:

Hi Alex,

No book signing tour in the cards yet... ;-)

As for cons, yes, we're all experienced con-goers, especially pre-pandemic. Getting back into the swing of cons is certainly something we're discussing.

How about meeting me at HeroesCon!

[diva_tsarina]

On 4/29/2023 at 10:51 AM, alxjhnsn said:

 The link will take you to the "buy" page. There's a link to an eBay store for US buyers and instructions for international buyers.

 

the book looks very cool but it appears only way to purchase is through ebay? seems a direct option would have saved buyers 10-15% off the enormous cost. 

[alxjhnsn]

On 5/1/2023 at 7:41 AM, diva_tsarina said:

the book looks very cool but it appears only way to purchase is through ebay? seems a direct option would have saved buyers 10-15% off the enormous cost. 

It's their eBay store. If they did it direct, they'd have to raise the cost for the time and effort that eBay saves them.