Art Day - Caniff and Raymond 0

[rsonenthal]

I’ve always read the strips in the paper, and was a big fan of the comics in the papers growing up.  I haven’t historically been a huge collector of strip art, but that’s changed a bit over the last few years.  By the way, if you’re looking for a great book about the Golden Age (but not really the Golden Age) of comic strips, I would recommend Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make-Believe by Cullen Murphy. Cullen’s dad was an artist on Big Bolt Ben, and later on Prince Valiant. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the lives of so many artists that we now revere.

Anyway, at the suggestion of some friends, I started reading strips from well before my time and have just fallen for Terry and the Pirates. Not fallen as bad as some friends and “Carol Day,” but there’s something about Terry and the Pirates that I just find compelling.  It’s not just the stories (although they’re great), or the artwork, or the characters.  It’s truly the balance of all three. Although he was fantastic with action sequences, it’s how he handled the quiet moments that I find so wonderful.  I’ve recently picked up three strips that are great examples of how Caniff used white space to create dramatic tension. In the examples (bookending World War II), it’s how he portrays the emotions of anticipation and concern.  First, see the strip from August of 1941 (from the “Raven Nevermore” story).  Note that there isn’t any dialogue in the last two of the four panels.  But, Terry’s face in the third panel, and his posture as he heads off in the night tell volumes.  Now, look at the strip from December 14, 1946.  It’s not just in the faces of the characters, but in the lighting and the placement of the phone in the foreground that tell the story and create dramatic tension.  Finally, I also picked up a post WW II strip (from the same story “Fanning Old Flames”,  shortly before Caniff left the strip).  I love this one. It’s mostly Terry, but the star is Burma. It sums up both character’s personalities and their relationship. It’s got a ton of blacks and an amazing city scene – and all in four panels!! Just great stuff!!

The link to August 1, 1941:   http://cafurl.com?i=23461

The link to December 14, 1946:  http://cafurl.com?i=23462

The link to December 17, 1946:  http://cafurl.com?i=23463

I’ve also started picking up some of Alex Raymond’s work, specifically Rip Kirby.  Raymond was killed in a car crash at age 46, and the work he left behind shows a genius in the art form. Raymond’s use of blacks and shadows are extremely dramatic and cinematic. Seriously, these strips can be the subject of a class in inking.  These two (from 1948 and 1952) use a lot of ink - all to good measure.  The strip from 1948 (from “The Terror on the Thames”) is an especially good example of using lighting to set the mood.  Note how Raymond changes the light source from the protagonists in the first two panels from the overhead lights in the ceiling to the third and final panel where the bad guy’s face is lit from beneath by the dashboard instrumentation.  In the 1952 piece (from “The Millbanks Murder Case”), note how he lit the newspaper reporter.  He’s leaning into the shadow as he reports to his editor.  The light is coming from outside of the phone booth, highlighting where Desmond is listening in. 

The link to the 1948 piece:  http://cafurl.com?i=23464

The link to the 1952 piece:  http://cafurl.com?i=23465

As always, feel free to look around at anything else of interest.

Ron Sonenthal

[tth2]

Fantastic stuff!  Two of my very favorite comic strip artists.

[tth2]

My personal tastes in both artists run a bit earlier.

I love Alex Raymond's work from 1934 to around 1937-38.  Here's a Secret Agent X-9 from 1934, when he was working on this daily while doing Flash Gordon/Jungle Jim Sundays.

[tth2]

Similarly, I'm a big fan of the pre-WW II run of Caniff's Terry & the Pirates, when it was more of a Tin Tin-esque adventure strip.  What's really fascinating during this period is seeing Caniff's evolution from a very clean style, almost unrecognizable to those who know him only from his later Terry and Steve Canyon work, to the heavier brushwork that he is most famous for.

You can see the change (both story-wise and art-wise) from the first piece from November 1934 to the second piece approximately 2 years later in October 1936 (featuring one of his most famous characters, the Dragon Lady).

 

[rsonenthal]

Those are excellent!  I'm more of a WW II fan, but the Dragon Lady strip is wonderful.  Caniff got so much done in 4 panels.  I've never seen the artwork from so early on in the story.  Very interesting on how his line matured as time went on.

[rsonenthal]

25 minutes ago, tth2 said:

My personal tastes in both artists run a bit earlier.

I love Alex Raymond's work from 1934 to around 1937-38.  Here's a Secret Agent X-9 from 1934, when he was working on this daily while doing Flash Gordon/Jungle Jim Sundays.

Raymond's work is just so well done.  Everyone focuses on Flash Gordon (and with good reason), but it's pieces like this that make you realize that he could do just about any time or place and make it look perfect.

[tth2]

No question that Raymond was phenomenal. 

I rank his peak work on Flash Gordon as the very apex of comic strip illustration, even above Hal Foster's best work (and I love Foster, both on Tarzan and Prince Valiant).  His brushwork is to die for.

[adamstrange]

On 12/5/2018 at 11:26 PM, tth2 said:

His brushwork is to die for.

True.

Raymond was the better illustrator, Foster the better story teller.  They were admirer's of each others' work.

[GeneticNinja]

Nice pieces guys. I'm after some Alex Raymond work myself and always look forward to seeing what turns up on Heritage. Any other places I should watch?

[Robot Man]

Hand colored and signed by Caniff

[tth2]

Nice!