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):

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.