More Fun Comics not owned by esquire

[Scrooge]

Perhaps I made an error in mentioning specific names without doing my research first.

 

As they say, I might not be as smart as the next guy but I can sure work harder than he does. I like your comments, they send me down unexplored and interesting paths. The timing here in particular was not right for the comparison as we are looking at early (1936) work and lead me to look at O'Mealia's earlier career.

 

But surely anyone looking at those pages is struck by their similarity to the Sunday adventure strips, in both format and appearance?

 

I'd like to hear others' opinion about that one because it didn't strike me particularly as such.

 

The point is the adventure strips, O'Mealia's Fu Manchu work that you reproduced, and the art in the More Fun 7 (not just O'Mealia's panels, but the other artists' panels too), all share similar stylistic traits. Perhaps they all draw upon much earlier influences. But there's a similarity in the very fine quality of linework and aesthetic presentation of the figures. If this were an art class, one would be tempted to say these artists came from the same school or movement, or were heavily influenced by a particular school or movement.

 

The bolded comment is what I'm after / interested in as much as you are, Tim. Anyone who has a lead on this for me, please pipe up. I don't want to go all the way back to OO but you may mention some early strip / illustration work I need to check out. Not that I am unaware of Pyle, Rackham, Parrish, Leyendecker, Flagg, Wyeth, Abbey, Cornwell, ... but there seems in my mind to still be a missing link between those guys and O'Mealia or Foster. The earliest adventure strip would be Roy Crane's Wash Tubbs ...

 

It's clearly very different from the typical artwork that appeared post-Action #1. Schomburg, Kane (or whoever was ghosting for him), Kirby, Beck, etc. had a completely different (some would say inferior) style. I've never looked at their work and said "Gee, that really reminds me of a Prince Valiant or Tarzan sunday strip", whereas that was my first reaction on seeing the More Fun 7.

 

Come on, don't tell me Kane's Batman (or whoever was doing the work for him) didn't remind you of Foster. It should. Here's why -

 

Left - Tarzan 1929 panel - Right - Batman - 'Tec 31 - 1939* -

 

or how about Moldoff

Left - Prince Valian 1938 panel - Right - Flash # 7 - 1940 -

 

To balance this out, here's one of Foster's influence -

Left - Pyle 1888 illustration - Right - Prince Valiant 1938 Panel -

 

* - All illustrated examples from Brian M. Kane's Hal Foster - Prince of Illustrators - Father of the Adventure Strip. Go out and buy one!

[Scrooge]

Foster and Raymond were both very quickly being swiped. I was looking at a 1938 comic and noticed that a panel looked familiar. It was swiped from a 1937 Foster Tarzan page that I have.

 

Wow, plenty of posting while I was preparing my post above. My point is that I would find it harder to believe O'Mealia would swipe from Foster or Raymond than younger kids really who found an entry job in the nascent comic book industry once the number of published comic books mushroomed. These younger guns were the swipers.

 

Oh and by the way, any chance of a scan / picture of both the panel and the original Tarzan page? or at least the book and the Tarzan date?

[tth2]

Perhaps I made an error in mentioning specific names without doing my research first.

 

As they say, I might not be as smart as the next guy but I can sure work harder than he does. I like your comments, they send me down unexplored and interesting paths. The timing here in particular was not right for the comparison as we are looking at early (1936) work and lead me to look at O'Mealia's earlier career.

You are a gentleman and a scholar!

 

Come on, don't tell me Kane's Batman (or whoever was doing the work for him) didn't remind you of Foster. It should. Here's why -

 

Left - Tarzan 1929 panel - Right - Batman - 'Tec 31 - 1939* -

Perhaps Kane (or whoever was doing the work for him ) was influenced by Foster, but due to the fact that his artistic ability was so inferior, I've never made the connection. Wouldn't even put him in the same planet when it comes to artistic merit.

 

or how about Moldoff

Left - Prince Valian 1938 panel - Right - Flash # 7 - 1940 -

This wasn't influence, this was an out-and-out swipe!

 

To balance this out, here's one of Foster's influence -

Left - Pyle 1888 illustration - Right - Prince Valiant 1938 Panel -

Pretty much an out-and-out swipe too. I don't think it's a big surprise that most of the illustrators from this generation would've been heavily influenced by Pyle.

[adamstrange]

Pretty much an out-and-out swipe too. I don't think it's a big surprise that most of the illustrators from this generation would've been heavily influenced by Pyle.

 

Do you know who Pyle is or are you just posing!

[adamstrange]

Foster and Raymond were both very quickly being swiped. I was looking at a 1938 comic and noticed that a panel looked familiar. It was swiped from a 1937 Foster Tarzan page that I have.

 

Wow, plenty of posting while I was preparing my post above. My point is that I would find it harder to believe O'Mealia would swipe from Foster or Raymond than younger kids really who found an entry job in the nascent comic book industry once the number of published comic books mushroomed. These younger guns were the swipers.

 

 

The young pups grinding out the art at 5 bucks a page were definitely the culprits.

 

I did think your point was about who O'Mealia would swipe from. Age isn't a protection against swipage (probably not a word -- but it should be ) but I think O'Mealia was talented enough not to swipe unless it was from something else he did. I do see some similarity stylistically between Finlay's work and O'Mealia's. If we could only compare some samples of their original art.

 

Oh and by the way, any chance of a scan / picture of both the panel and the original Tarzan page? or at least the book and the Tarzan date?

 

I actually had a nightmare two weeks back that I split the spine of that comic from opening it too far!

 

So, no.

 

Tarzan is early 37, book is mid 38.

[adamstrange]

As they say, I might not be as smart as the next guy but I can sure work harder than he does

 

A hard worker and a class act. The board would be much the poorer without you!

[esquirecomics]

Which is precisely why I try to keep my collection as slab-free as possible. In my mind, early GA collectors who are only interested in covers and CGC labels are missing out on 75% of the appeal of these books. Fingers crossed that esquire sees the light and starts cracking his pre-Spectre More Funs one of these days, to really see what he owns (unless he has reader copies, which would make the decision to keep his collection imprisoned more understandable). Because let's face it, those Vin Sullivan covers are far from the best parts of those early More Funs.

 

I only keep them slabbed so that I don't continually take them out and handle them and risk doing something I will regret, which I know will happen (i.e., tear something, bang a corner, etc.).

 

If I buy them unslabbed, they - at least to date - remain unslabbed.

[tth2]

Pretty much an out-and-out swipe too. I don't think it's a big surprise that most of the illustrators from this generation would've been heavily influenced by Pyle.

 

Do you know who Pyle is or are you just posing!

Everyone knows Gomer!

[Norrin_Radd]

Come on, don't tell me Kane's Batman (or whoever was doing the work for him) didn't remind you of Foster. It should. Here's why -

 

Left - Tarzan 1929 panel - Right - Batman - 'Tec 31 - 1939* -

 

Good work, Michaël. It was also used in the origin story in Tec 33.

[sacentaur]

Love the comparison panels Michael, thank you!

 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and what's old is new again (indeed).

 

STEVE Got Larson?

[mica]

Pretty much an out-and-out swipe too. I don't think it's a big surprise that most of the illustrators from this generation would've been heavily influenced by Pyle.

 

Do you know who Pyle is or are you just posing!

I'm sure he knows. I posted this from my Classics thread

Pirates fight over treasure in a Howard Pyle illustration from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates.

Many Pirate illustrations look like this where two guys fight and a small crowd watches.

[GreatEscape]

 

Those image comparisons are amazing...very impressive work!!

 

GE

[adamstrange]

Pretty much an out-and-out swipe too. I don't think it's a big surprise that most of the illustrators from this generation would've been heavily influenced by Pyle.

 

Do you know who Pyle is or are you just posing!

I'm sure he knows. I posted this from my Classics thread

Pirates fight over treasure in a Howard Pyle illustration from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates.

Many Pirate illustrations look like this where two guys fight and a small crowd watches.

 

 

[mica]

Was wondering if anyone would see that.

 

And there's this from that Classics thread as well .

[mica]

Remove the knife and insert a club.

[ciorac]

.

 

Are Valiant and the bald guy fighting? Or making out? Old Baldy seems to be enjoying Vally's head on his chest...

[mica]

Are Valiant and the bald guy fighting? Or making out? Old Baldy seems to be enjoying Vally's head on his chest...

[ciorac]

Nicely done Mica.

[adamstrange]

Scrooge's hard work has motivated me to get off my *butter knife* and provide another example of Crandall swiping the incomparable Howard "Shaaaa-zam" Pyle:

 

 

[sacentaur]

Nice work, Adam - you should be a Detective (your job application is in the mail)!

 

STEVE Got Larson?