When Robert Crumb was a guest at a convention in Dallas in 1984, he showed slides of 1940s comic book covers—all funny animals (as I recall)—and spoke on the beautiful color work that was done by anonymous craftsmen on a deadline. The cover of this issue, signed by the opaque collective name "Jason Comic Art" is an illustration of what he was talking about! The giraffe is kind of cloying, but the un-outlined color in the rest of the cover is a regular work of art (or Art).
Link to the book:
Frisky Fables v4 04