Comic Strip History, Lessons #604 – 608
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The Wizard of Oz Comic Strips from 1907?–?1917
THE REVELATOR was a proud and earlier proponent of The Wizard of Oz comics, running the entire L. Frank Baum series from its inception as a national Sunday feature in 1904 through to the final daily strips starring Toto in 1917. Indeed THE REVELATOR, beneficiary of a hitherto unheard of licensing arrangement with Baum, carried the strip as an exclusive for a decade. It is during THE REVELATOR years from 1907 to 1917 that The Wizard of Oz comic strip innovated the characteristics that would influence later comics luminaries such as Milton Caniff, Chester Gould, and Charles Schultz.
Bud Fisher’s The Mutt and Jeff Cartoons Book
I recently purchased a cartoon compilation book—Bud Fisher’s The Mutt and Jeff Cartoons Book 2 published by The Ball Publishing Company of Boston in 1911. The stiff cardboard cover measures 15 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches. I paid $35.00 from an estate sale specialist. These cartoon compilations were the forerunners of comic books – more about this later.
Mickey at 60 by William Stout and Jim Steinmeyer
Stout himself explains:
“The first book of Mickey at 60 (1988) was done the year of Mickey Mouse’s 60th birthday, while I was working at Walt Disney Imagineering. It started as office humor. I kept getting inundated by all this Mickey’s 60th hype around the offices, and I thought, ‘Well, if Mickey were really 60, what would he look like?’ And I thought, ‘He hasn’t done a picture in years. He’s probably let himself go. He’s living in a little bungalow in Hollywood. Minnie’s probably divorced him and is living off her alimony in Miami.’
As Mickey Mouse nears his 90th Anniversary, Jim Korkis reviews the rare Mickey at 60 book.
Jack Welch: The Cartoonist From Cleburne
John William (Jack) Welch did a daily panel called “On Our Block.”
Shouldn’t be confused with the John J. Welch of Bullet Benton/Red Knight fame.
Jack Welch’s “On Our Block” shouldn’t be confused with TomMcNamara’s “On Our Block.”
The Super Powers of Popeye the Super Man
Comic Book Historians shows Popeye surviving a hail of bullets, drinking poison, squeezed by a giant Boa Constrictor, performing feats of unbelievable strength, and even being called a “superman” – years before the appearance of the comic book Superman.
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