Leonard Starr 1925-2015

I was saddened by the passing of Leonard Starr in August of 2015. I started buying his artwork a few years ago and only recently read his great Mary Perkins - On Stage series which has been reprinted by Charles Pelto of Classic Comics Press. If you haven't read it, do yourself a favor and buy the reprints. Leonard was not only one of the all time great draftsmen from the photo-realistic strip art era, but was also one of its greatest writers. Though the series originally began almost 60 years ago, it holds up remarkably well today - a testament to Starr's great talent. If you search the web or read the introductions to the reprints, written by many top talents of the industry, you will see similar accolades for his work. He was one of the greats.

Featured here are three consecutive dailies from 1965. Notice how each daily works as a stand-alone piece, and yet they also flow together smoothly and move the story forward. The beautiful inking speaks for itself. (Click for larger image)

Cisco Kid 1952-07-26

Picked up this wonderful Cisco Kid daily by the great Jose Luis-Salinas.  Salinas was from Argentina and drew the Cisco Kid from 1951-1968.  I obtained this strip from a family member who was good friends with Salinas.  He told me Salinas gave some strips to his father when he was a boy.  This is a great example, and you'll note how Salinas painstakingly painted the floral pattern on Cisco's shirt each and every time!  I especially love the last panel featuring Cisco.  One of the greats of the strip art era. (click for larger image)

Rusty Riley - Halloween 1956

Frank Godwin was one of the all time great illustrators and I love his work on the comic strip Rusty Riley; an adventure strip about a boy and horse racing.  Godwin had a very distinctive style and was a master with the brush. Most collectors desire strips featuring horses and good shots of Rusty. I like those as well but also love Godwin's portraits and the way he renders water - so this strip is right in my sweet spot since it features both. It is also from the castle/raft storyline which collectors prize above all others. It does have some staining, but this 10/31/1956 daily is a great example nonetheless. Pencils and inks by Frank Godwin (click for larger image).

UPDATE!  I've had this wonderful daily professionally restored and most of the staining has been removed.  It looks great!   Check out the new image (click for larger image):

Rip Kirby 1949-10-10

Alex Raymond is considered by many to be the greatest strip artist of all time. This is the third Rip Kirby strip I've owned, and none have had Rip himself in them. That doesn't bother me at all because - look at this strip!  So much going on - dramatic lighting with lush inks. I love the inking effect Raymond gives for showing the light outside the car window in panel one. And I love the one simple shadow line on the woman's face in panel three cast by her eyeglass frame. I could go on... Pencils and inks Alex Raymond (click for larger image)

Big Ben Bolt 1968-05-10

(click for larger image. pencils and inks by John Cullen Murphy)

I had never heard of John Cullen Murphy before I started collecting comic book and strip art, but once I discovered his work on Big Ben Bolt, I was smitten.  In my opinion, he is one of the greats of the medium. He had a very unique style which employed fine scratchy lines, yet the work still managed to look clean and realistic.  I used to own four examples which I picked up for a song, but regretfully sold them off (save one).  Since the strip is about a boxer/detective character, I'd always wanted one of him boxing and when I saw this one come up, I couldn't resist.  This is quite a bit later than my other example (from 1961), and I actually prefer the early one, but this one has some great line work, so I can't complain.  Murphy later went on to work with Hal Foster on the Prince Valiant newspaper strip in 1970, and eventually took it over completely in 1979.  He continued on the strip all the way up until 2004 and died shortly thereafter.

Rip Kirby 1954-01-25

I had a small strip art collection some years ago (chronicled in CFA-APA issue 65), but sold most of it off. I was trying to condense my collection down to the bare essentials, which meant retaining only the stuff I was most nostalgic for (i.e., 1980's comic book art). I do have a real soft-spot for the photo-realistic strip art of the 1940's-1960's however. There were some tremendously talented guys producing the most beautiful art on a daily basis. Among the best were Alex Raymond, Leonard Starr, Jose-Luis Salinas, and Frank Godwin. I own or owned strips by all of them, but I did sell my only Raymond a while back.

My interest in these strips has been rekindled lately, and I was lucky enough to find this excellent Alex Raymond Rip Kirby at what I thought was a bargain price. Raymond is considered by many to be the best strip artist of all time. I won't pick favorites, but I'm glad to have another Raymond in my collection. (click for larger image)

Here's a close up of panel one showcasing Raymond's great brush and pen work. (click for larger image)

The Saint 07-30-1958

Very nice Saint daily from 1958 by Frank Spranger. It's pretty amazing to see what these old strip artists could do with a brush. (click for larger image)

Dr. Kildare 05-30-1963

Found another great strip that I couldn't resist - a 1963 Dr. Kildare daily by Ken Bald featuring a very lovely woman. I owned a few Bald Judd Saxon dailies once, but sold them off. It's nice to have another Bald back in my collection. This strip is a bit earlier than the ones I used to own, and the quality is a bit nicer. What makes it extra special though is that it once belonged to comic art giant Wally Wood!! Pretty nifty (see inscription).

Whenever I see a strip signed with a dedication to another person (like my On Stage daily by Leonard Starr ), I always assume the artist was particularly pleased with the strip since they were giving it as a gift. I could be wrong but both the dedicated strips in my collection are pretty darned good examples. (Click for larger scan. Pencils and inks Ken Bald.)

UPDATE - SOLD THIS PIECE IN MAY 2009!!

Rusty Riley 11-07-55

The second of the two Rusty strips I picked up recenly. Love all the line work on Tex's coat. I can't say with certainty, but it appears Godwin only ever used brush which is really amazing!

Rusty Riley 01/17/55

UPDATE - SOLD THIS PIECE IN AUGUST 2008!!

As mentioned in my article for the CFA-APA 65, I believe that strip art is where you get the most bang for your buck. My personal favorites are the photo-realistic adventure strips of the 1950's and later. Guys like Alex Raymond, Stan Drake, Leonard Starr, Jose Luis Salinas, Ken Bald, Neal Adams, Frank Godwin and others were producing high quality strips, literally, on a daily basis. Since most collectors interests are driven by superhero based nostalgia, many of these great artists works can be had amazingly cheap.

I made the decision a while back to sell off my strip art collection. I haven't really regretted it, but whenever I see a particularly nice daily, it gets the wheels turning in my head. In fact, whenever I see a nice Godwin Rusty Riley, I wonder why I don't own a bunch. That changed recently as I picked up a couple of nice dailies from 1955. Here's the first one.

On Stage 01-28-65

I really like the inks on this beautiful On Stage daily by Leonard Starr. Dollar for dollar, you get the most bang for your buck with strip art. This period of the photo-realistic strips is my favorite, and was loaded with amazingly talented illustrators. To see more of what I'm talking about, and to get a glimpse of my former collection, check out my CFA-APA article from issue 65. (Pencils and inks Leonard Starr. Click for larger image.)

Big Ben Bolt 09-05-61

My already small strip art collection was whittled down to only two pieces in the last year or so. I sold my best pieces, but kept this one and an On Stage daily because they just aren't worth selling, and I enjoy looking at them. This is a nice BBB strip by the great John-Cullen Murphy. When you see strips like this one, you begin to realize where a guy like Neal Adams picked up his tricks. (Pencils and inks John Cullen-Murphy. Click for larger image.)

CFA-APA 65 Will Eisner

While I knew enough about Will Eisner's work to understand why he was one of the most important comic creators to have worked in the industry, I didn't know enough to write an entire article about him. Instead, I chose to write about my small comic strip art collection. Shortly after entering the original art hobby, I discovered comic strip art, and especially, the photo-realistic strips of the 1950's and 1960's. Sadly, I no longer own most of the strips featured in the article as I felt the need to whittle my collection down to the bare essentials (as highlighted in my article for CFA-APA 68). You can read my submission by clicking on the image.