"This day's experience, set in order, none of it left ragged or lying about, all of it gathered in like treasure and finished with, set aside." –Alice Munro, "What is Remembered"
This morning and afternoon, I’ve been fiddling with a new template for Ragged Claws Network. So if you noticed some changes in the look of this site as you were browsing today, now you know the cause.
If you have any thoughts about what I’ve done so far, or you encounter specific problems that you think I ought to address, please feel free to post here.
Thanks for reading!
RC
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Two studies in red conté along with the final painting, which was published in Epic Illustrated #30:
One of the main frustrations of the various books on the art of Jeffrey Jones is the lack of documentation regarding mediums, supports (e.g., masonite, mounted canvas, stretched canvas, whatever), sizes, dates, etc. Trouble is, Jones himself never kept proper records of his work, and his publishers apparently have not had the wherewithal to locate the works in order to fill in the gaps
Here, for your listening enjoyment, is “I Want to Be Happy,” the second track on the 1962 album, Playing It Straight, by comedy legends Henry “Homer” Haynes and Kenneth “Jethro” Burns:
Homer and Jethro – “I Want to Be Happy”
“I Want to Be Happy” was written by composer Vincent Youmans and lyricist Irving Caesare for the 1924 musical No, No, Nanette.
From Fantastic Worlds #5 (September 1952), here’s “The Invaders,” with pencils by Alex Toth and inks by Mike Peppe:
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Back on 27 March 2010 over at “Grantbridge Street and Other Adventures,” blogger Joe Bloke posted the story “Gideon Faust: Warlock at Large” by Len Wein and Howard Chaykin, as it was reprinted, in colour, in Star*Reach Classics #5. Today here at RCN, however, we’ve got the story as it originally appeared, in beautiful black-and-white, in Star*Reach #5 (3rd printing, June 1978 [1st printing, July 1976]); and here, also, is Chaykin’s original colour cover:
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The inking style here is pretty much the same as the style Chaykin used in the first issue (March 1977) of Marvel’s Star Wars series — and from where I sit, over thirty years later, it still looks fresh!
From Fantastic Worlds #5 (September 1952), here’s “Triumph over Terror,” with pencils by Alex Toth and inks by Mike Peppe:
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From the out-of-print collection Kafka: The Execution by Leopoldo Duranona (Fantagraphics Books, 1989), here’s Duranona’s adaptation of Kafka’s “A Country Doctor“:
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To view all of the stories with art (or art and script) by Duranona that I’ve posted thus far (including three more Kafka adaptations), click here.
Coming this summer from IDW, publisher of Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles and Jeffrey Jones: A Life in Art, Dean Mullaney’s Caniff — a followup of sorts to the Mullaney-edited, multi-volume IDW reprint series, The Complete Terry and the Pirates — promises to be the sort of blockbuster coffee-table art book that every self-respecting comic-strip fan will covet even if he or she can’t afford to buy it:
Here are the details from Amazon.ca:
Caniff HC [Hardcover]
Dean Mullaney (Author), Milton Caniff (Artist)List Price:
CDN$ 62.50
Price: CDN$ 32.92 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: CDN$ 29.58 (47%)* Hardcover: 360 pages
* Publisher: IDW Publishing (July 12 2011)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1600109209
* ISBN-13: 978-1600109201“He’s been called ‘The Rembrandt of the Comic Strip’ and the ‘Greatest Generation’s Cartoonist-in-Chief.’ No comics artist has so heavily influenced his medium and no cartoonist has seen more imitators than Milton Arthur Caniff, the creator of Terry and the Pirates, Male Call, and Steve Canyon. While these three classic newspaper strips have been reprinted, until now, the immense talent behind them has never been afforded a large-scale art monograph dedicated to his entire career. Produced with full access to Caniff’s extensive personal archives at The Ohio State University, and with the cooperation of the Caniff estate, this oversized book reproduces from the original artwork hundreds of comics, illustrations, pencil sketches, and drawings – including many not previously reprinted. In addition to the three famous comic strips, represented are his childhood drawings, the beginnings of his career as a newspaper cartoonist, his significant contributions to the 1940s war effort, as well as his continuing relationship with the Air Force, Boy Scouts, and other organizations. “
Wow!
p.s. If you have avoided purchasing The Complete Terry and the Pirates because a couple of the volumes are already out of print, never fear: Mullaney has spoken out on a couple of Web sites to assure Caniff fans that IDW already has plans for second printings.
From PLOP! volume 3, number 11 (April 1975), here’s “Ssssssssppprrrtttzzzzz,” with superlatively silly scripting by superlatively silly scribe, Steve Skeates, and art by Alex Toth:
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