"The Return of the Mummy" by Dick Briefer

I have a couple of Frankenstein stories to post, then I am going to post a whole bunch of Dan Gordon next week; so I hope everybody loves Superkatt!

This story, The Return of the Mummy, really highlights some great cartooning. The composition in each panel is nice and clean: the characters are nicely posed, there is no clutter and very few tangents. The information in each shot is processed quickly on first sight. Backgrounds appear where background detail is necessary, and are abandoned where it is not (especially page 4, where aside from one lone column, there are no backgrounds at all). The other side of the coin is demonstrated by the last two panels of page 2 and the first two panels of page 3: the backgrounds quickly establish location and a sense of the distance traveled from the boat to the tomb.

There is an excellent use of spotted blacks in the design throughout, especially on pages 3, 7, and 8 (the use of shadows in the third and fourth panels of page 7 are especially nice).

The fight scenes, as usual, are very fluid; they almost look like gesture drawings at times. My favorite panel may be the last one on page 6, which is a wonderful still image of pure cartoon action.

Briefer's babes always look like silent film vamps, don't they? Although Cleopatra's resemblance to actress Theda Bara could easily have been intentional, as she did portray the Queen of Egypt in 1917.

Here is "The Return of the Mummy" from Frankenstein #16 (Nov-Dec 1948):

 

Barney Bear by Carl Barks

When I was a boy there were many cartoon characters that frustrated me terribly. Characters like Hong Kong Phooey, Jabberjaw, the Great Grape Ape...I liked those characters. They were, in my opinion, successfully realized: the design and voice casting were top-notch. But the shows themselves were so badly written they infuriated me! Alas, Barney Bear was another character that caused me such distress in my cartoon-consuming youth. He would show up in the middle of the Tom & Jerry show, win me over with his great design and appealing persona, then proceed to bore me to tears. Why, Barney, why???

A lot of mind-numbing mediocrity can be forgiven when you happen to have the Duck Man drawing your comics, however.

I mentioned in an earlier post how Barney and Benny act like an old radio comedy team. In this story that comedy team is Abbott and Costello. Benny acts as Bud Abbott, the straight man/instigator to Barney's Lou Costello, the patsy and victim of all the cartoon violence. Although the ending, with Barney coming out on top, doesn't come from the Abbott & Costello dynamic, but rather from Barks' trademark sense of ironic comeuppance.

Here is Barney Bear and Benny Burro from Our Gang Comics #24 (July 1946):

2 comments:


Mykal said...

Doug: Great post. Thanks for sharing this non-duck Barks! You make such a good point about this story having the Barksian ( a pompous word, I know) sense of irony. Also, the panels of them driving into the park on the second page had so much of the Barks sense of accuracy and reality. I bet there was an actual sign like that in Bark's day, welcoming visitors to Yellowstone.

Bark's lettering was so unique. That "crash" on page 5. If I remember right, his wife did his lettering.

I really enjoyed this. -- Mykal

November 8, 2009 3:04 AM


Doug said...

Thanks, Mykal. I would bet you're right about the accuracy of those drawings. I believe Barks had quite a file of reference photos, made up of mostly issues of National Geographic. There certainly would have been photos of Yellowstone in there!

November 8, 2009 3:20 AM

Sugar and Spike by Sheldon Mayer

Here's a bit more Sheldon Mayer!

For those of you unfamiliar with Sugar and Spike, the two children communicate with each other through baby-talk...so no adults can understand what they say to each other. But the kids can't understand anything the adults say either! A neat concept for a very funny series.

"Boppo's Narrow Escape", "Better Late Than Never", and "Spike Solves Another Mystery" are all from Sugar and Spike #54 (Aug-Sept 1964):

    3 comments:


Mykal said...

Doug: Great post. Mayer's understanding of children was so uncanny and touching. With regard to his art, you have already said all that needed saying in your last post. Such dear stuff. More please. -- Mykal

November 7, 2009 7:29 AM


Gabriel said...

I love Boppo. What a great character design it is! The second panel of the page 5 (first story) is really brilliant. It catches the reader unawares. I mean-- it takes a little to understand what's happen, and when you get it, you have already arrived in fourth panel. Tempo in Mayer's stories always work perfectly, doesn't it? You gave me a good time!
Thanks!

November 7, 2009 8:33 AM


Doug said...

Gabriel: Tempo, yes! Great point, these stories don't waste any time, do they? You get the setup, and then right into the gags. And a funny "punchline" at the end. Expert stuff.

Mykal: I have a bit more S&S comics I can post...I have some other stuff lined up first (Barks, Kelly, Briefer, Dan G) but then I will add some more Mayer!

November 7, 2009 11:41 AM