Tom Mason is pulling gems of comic history from an ol’ publication, “These Top Cartoonists Tell How They Create America?s Favorite Comics.” He’s posted a snippet from Bud Sagendorf who worked with Popeye creator E.C. Segar and eventually took over the reins.
My working habits are quite loose. Some of my fellow cartoonists are able to follow a regular, daily work pattern, but I have never been able to do this. I usually work on ideas and do my penciling in the morning and save the inking for the evening. Inking is the mechanical part of the business; so I enjoy half-watching TV while I do it.
…
“I do not like to write out a complete daily continuity too far in advance. When I have a continuity idea I blab an outline into a small tape recorder and file it away until I’m ready for it. The day-to-day strips are done on a weekly basis. I feel that too-tight writing holds me down, and I lose the spontaneous ideas that always pop up when I’m working.
well blow me down…!
Sagendorf’s book for (I think) Popeye’s 50th anniversary is wonderful reading. He talks about what it was like to be E.C. Segar’s assistant. Fascinating stuff.