Prior to last week's Sunday post, I have four Sunday strips leading up to it. Here I post the first two, setting up the continuity, for what it's worth. Pretty loosey goosey continuity, I must say.
In an interview, Selby Kelly stated that when he was ill, Walt Kelly drew his characters sort of tiny and scrawny, and with very minimalist backgrounds — as we see here. Looking at these strips I have a feeling that the trees in the opening panels are probably paste-ups from an earlier, healthier, time.
On the next post, we'll see that the odd pirate parrot, that looks a bit like Churchy, is Churchy LaFemme's cousin, Captain Bluebeard, the Professional Parrot Pirate. Something to look forward to.
November 5, 1972
November 12, 1972
Selby's description of Kelly's sick work as 'tiny and scrawny'. Isn't far off. It's just sketchy with a lot of odd little perspective and proportion issues. Like where Albert's head suddenly becomes big enough to stand on (or everyone else shrinks). I'm faintly amused by (mini-) Howland covering Albert's eyes, but it's also faintly creepy. Beauregard's feet do some weirdness, like being harsh dog-legs at the end, and suddenly mysteriously losing his shows for an entire panel. Both have a hallucinatory feel to them because of this.
ReplyDeleteWell, I did enjoy 'em.
- (A)
1.Hard to believe that these two should be from the master's hand, but then they actually fit quite well with the minimalistic (i.e. almost empty) daily strips from Nov. 6 to Dec. 1, '72.
ReplyDelete2.Wondering how the parrot pirate would be related to Churchy's uncle Rip van Turkle (or whatever) in the 'French / Belgian' strips . Genetics in Okefenokee swamp...
3. Thanks, Thom for stuffing another hole in my collection
Hun
These definitely look as sickly as Kelly was no doubt feeling. The dialogue in those first 3 or 4 panels of the 11/05 strip seems to just keep going over the same ground over and over and over. I know the top two panels had to be dispensable, since some papers dropped them...but usually Kelly would have placed some throwaway gag in there, rather than essentially doing the same setup twice over. Beauregard in panel 6 of that strip is about as off-model as anything that ever came from Kelly's pen. Even the colorist on the first strip seems to have been uninspired by the material (not bothering to color Curtis' bill, and leaving some backgrounds white).
ReplyDeleteSomething that perplexes me - based on what I've seen in the Fireside reprint books, the artwork in the Sundays and dailies seems to go downhill almost at the exact same time. Most cartoonists tend to work further ahead on the Sundays, since they need to be sent to the colorist. So I would have expected the dailies to start showing signs of Kelly's illness before the Sundays...yet it seems to have been pretty much simultaneous. I wonder how that came to be?
~Craig
Craig, to further mystify, one of the strips on the next post will show a fairly strong and regular 1st half of the strip and then sickly in the 2nd half. Strange doings in the Okefenokee of '72-'73.
ReplyDeleteTime to assemble yourself a Pogo Mobile:
ReplyDeleteEnvelope Cover: http://i.imgur.com/EdWh4MJ.jpg
Back Instructions: http://i.imgur.com/kDO13g2.jpg
Card 1: http://i.imgur.com/SNzLdw8.jpg
Card 2: http://i.imgur.com/nUZV3eB.jpg
Overview: http://i.imgur.com/yIxzrmM.jpg
Mirror Card 1 and 2, Print, Adhere and Align to Card Stock. Find thread and some wavy wire. Sorry for lack of better resolutions. Post pictures if you build one!
- (A)
Ouch. Very, VERY interesting, but also very painful to see. Proportions, layout, all seems to float around aimlessly. And looking at panel 4 of the second page, Albert has all of his usual lines, but all the elements don't seem to have connect anymore. Weird, painful, nonetheless very interesting. Thanks a lot for showing us, Thom!
ReplyDelete