This back page of a 1940s Dell comic features the ducks by Kelly, but even more tantalizing is the advertised poster that has to be by Kelly, judging from all the style clues — such a magnificent example of Kelly's time with Disney characters!
Does anyone have a lead to a full resolution scan of this poster?
I'm currently reading Fantagraphics' recent UNCLE SCROOGE Carl Barks release, so I'm in a Disney duck mood! Thanks for this. It's too bad Kelly only did a handful of full-length stories for Disney. His ducks are a thing of beauty.
ReplyDeleteA bit of trivia: Walt Kelly drew the first EVER original comic story produced for WALT DISNEY'S COMICS & STORIES. An 8-page version of "The Flying Gauchito" in WDC&S #24 (all prior issues had consisted solely of comic strip reprints and text-based stories). This story is especially interesting, in that it came out in 1942, a full three years before THE THREE CABALLEROS film -- which included "Gauchito" as a 7-minute animated short. I don't believe Kelly is credited at all on CABALLEROS (he had of course left the studio by that time). I don't know if the short pre-dated Kelly's comics story, or was based on it. Making things all the more intriguing is that, once CABALLEROS was released, Kelly drew a 48-page adaptation of the entire film (incorporating his prior version of "Gauchito"). It's one of the only full-length stories he ever did for Disney, so it seems he had some connection to the material.
~Craig
Thanks for the information, Craig! At some point I will be posting his Caballeros story, although scanned from a reprint.
ReplyDelete