[pervysage]

Hi, I'm new to these boards, but I was asking some questions to people over at the Comic Shack
and I was directed here for possible answers.

I'm currently doing a series of youtube videos on the History of Comics on Film

http://www.youtube.com/user/derekwc

The next show I'll be working on is the Sheena tv series from the 50s.

While doing some online research and reading I have a few questions I thought I might get some confirmation on:

Are Jumbo Comics #2-9 in the PD? Scanned?

In regards to Sheena's chimpanzee companion called Chim, I see that he was in Jumbo #11, is this Chim's first appearance? I also saw another chimp called Teeka in #10 so that Jumbo #11 was Chim's first appearance is my guess, but not having read Jumbo #2-9 I am not certain that this is the case, merely guessing.

Also regarding Sheena's wiki page it mentioned Calum McConnell as some love interest. Who is that? I was thinking Bob Rayburn filled this role. I see him in the comics I've read thus far and he was the other main cast member on the tv series save Sheena or Chim.

Thanks for any help you can provide me.

[Yoc]

Yes Jumbo 1-9 are PD but NO they have not been scanned yet, sorry.
Anyone who has them we would Dearly love to see scans of them here!

I can't help with the other questions.  Anyone else?

[pervysage]

Thank you Yoc for your response. I appreciate it.

[narfstar]

I could not find scans of Sheena but Nyoka scans are available for both Nyoka seriels

[phabox]

Of course the Sheena story in Jumbo Comics number one was 'only' a reprint.

The story had first been seen in 'Wags_046 dated Jan 14th 1938.

I'm not sure if that issue has been scanned or not but its PD status could be questionable being a UK and Commonwealth publication.

-Nigel

[pervysage]

phabox do you know if they were all reprints until #10?

I ask b/c I read that Jumbo Comics initial size was 10 x 14 (greater than the average golden age publication) until #10.

And thank you all so far for your comments and assistance in this matter.

[phabox]

As far as I can tell the reprints ended after 'a couple of years' and they then switched to all-new material but information on these early and as yet unscanned issues of Jumbo Comics is vague and so nothing is certain as regards the Wags cut off point.

Wags was most likely a WEEKLY publication so they would have had a good head start on Fiction House.

-Nigel

[pervysage]

Well I have completed my rough draft on my script for the Sheena video, so thanks for your help fellows.

I make make some more changes along the way.

Still baffled as to who Calum McConnell is though.

Maybe I'll just have to read some more Sheena comics to find that out.

[JVJ]

phabox do you know if they were all reprints until #10?

I ask b/c I read that Jumbo Comics initial size was 10 x 14 (greater than the average golden age publication) until #10.

And thank you all so far for your comments and assistance in this matter.

To give modern collectors an idea of the size, Jumbo 1-9 were

[kquattro]

I just borrowed issues 3,5 & 8 to review for the GCD and I simply don't know if the Sheena strips are collected from non-U.S. first appearances.

I own copies of JUMBO #4,10 & 12 and can verify that to up to the point of #12 there were still some reprinted strips from WAGS being used. The easiest strip to verify is "The Hawk/Hawk of the Seas" by Eisner, which is made up of WAGS strips cut up and re-pasted into the smaller format. But "Hawks" had a head start on "Sheena" in WAGS of several months, so there were more strips available for reprint when JUMBO began.

I have never seen an issue of Wags, so I don't know how many strips (of pages of strips) they were printing each week.

I also own two copies of the Aussie version of WAGS: vol. 2, #13 & vol. 2 #36. It's hard to exactly date these issues since the indicia only lists the year, but from the dates on some of the non-Eisner/Iger strips in them, it appears that the #13 is from July 1937 and #36 from Sept. 1938. This tabloid was published weekly according to the indicia, but based upon the numbering, that frequency seems doubtful. Neither issue contains a "Sheena" strip, unfortunately, so I don't know if that means it didn't appear in WAGS until after Sept. 1938, or if it appeared on a rotating basis and I just happened to have two issues that don't have an appearance.

There were eight Eisner/Iger strips per issue, in black and white and inserted into the tabloid as if they had been produced separately from the rest of the material. The other material is made up of standard American comic strips such as "Terry and the Pirates", "Alley Oop", "Moon Mullins", "Tarzan" and others. These were printed in color. Interestingly, the cover to #13 is a "Moon Mullins" cover which looks to be drawn by Eisner. I know he drew some of these covers and he did a good job of aping the various styles of the featured strip.

I'd love to be able to scan in these comics for the GAC, but they are all very fragile. I'll try to at least get a scan up of the Eisner "Moon Mullins" WAGS cover.

--Ken Quattro

[JVJ]

I bit the bullet and scanned ONE page of Sheena from Jumbo #3. This is actual size at 96ppi.

[JVJ]

Ken,
How many Hawks strips appeared in each issue of Wags? How were they presented? I guess, what I'd like to know is what was the format of Wags? Since all I've ever seen is the Eisner/Iger material in it's U.S. versions, I'd like to understand just how much was presented (and HOW) in each issue of Wags?

Thanks in advance for the info.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[kquattro]

Here's a link to a scan of the Will Eisner "Moon Mullins" cover (actually, it's the back cover) to WAGS vol. 2, #13 from sometime around July 1937:  http://www.comicartville.com/wags13cover.jpg

The tip-off for me that it's Eisner's work are the side characters on the left and right of the main image.

--Ken Quattro

[JVJ]

Here's a link to a scan of the Will Eisner "Moon Mullins" cover (actually, it's the back cover) to WAGS vol. 2, #13 from sometime around July 1937:  http://www.comicartville.com/wags13cover.jpg

The tip-off for me that it's Eisner's work are the side characters on the left and right of the main image.

--Ken Quattro

If you say so, Ken.
I find Eisner to be VERY inconsistent and virtually "style-free" this early. I would wonder, in this case, what he would doing drawing a cover for a magazine that was assembled (I think - again, my knowledge of Wags is virtually non-existent) in the U.K. If Eisner/Iger was only providing part of the material, the editors of Wags must have been dealing with other syndicates to get strips like Moon Mullins, so why would E/I be paid to create a cover?

Also, many of the labeled Phoenix strips in Jumbo #3 have dates on them, just like REAL newspaper strips. Do any of the "Heroes of Sports" or "Uncle Otto" or "Pee Wee" or "Gilda Gay" strips appear in your issues of Wags and do any of them have dates?

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[JVJ]

Also, Ken,
can you confirm that The Hawk strips in the early large-sized Jumbos were NOT reformatted from Wags, but printed "as is"? Eisner's intro the Kitchen Sink "Hawks of the Sea" reprint volume says that it was presented in Wags as a "Sunday strip" and the KS reprints match the episodes in Jumbo #3,5 & 8 exactly. I always thought that it wasn't until issue 10 and shrinking of the title that the overseas "Sunday strips" had to be reformatted to accommodate the reduced space. Is this true?

Thanks Jim (|:{>

[kquattro]

How many Hawks strips appeared in each issue of Wags? How were they presented? I guess, what I'd like to know is what was the format of Wags? Since all I've ever seen is the Eisner/Iger material in it's U.S. versions, I'd like to understand just how much was presented (and HOW) in each issue of Wags?

Hi, Jim.

There was one "Hawks" strip (and one of each strip) per issue. I don't know if "Hawks" appeared in every issue or if any of the strips did. The format was just like the Kitchen Sink "Hawks" 1986 reprint book and exactly that size. The strip that's in WAGS #13 is strip 10 (Eisner frequently numbered them) and if you have the Kitchen Sink book on hand, its the strip on page 10 only it's the complete version and not half a strip.

As I said in the previous post: the Eisner/Iger material is printed in black and white as opposed to the color of the rest of standard strips. I surmise that Eisner/Iger produced their part of the material and supplied it to Powers separately.

In addition to "Hawks", the strips that appeared in #13 were: "Spencer Steele" by Eisner (as Colebrook), "Peter Pupp" by Kane, "Modern 'Planes" by Les Marshall, "The Adventures of Tom" and "Puzzle Phun" both by Don Sherrill, "Strange as it Seems" by Hix and "Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Briefer.

In #36, the lineup was: "Hawks", "Scrappy" which was an adaption of the Charles Mintz cartoon character by an uncredited artist, "The Clock Strikes" by George Brenner, "Peter Pupp", "Spencer Steele", "Modern 'Planes", "Strange as it Seems" and "Hunchback" by all the same artists as in #13.

I've never been able to figure out the arrangement Kane had with Eisner/Iger as "Peter Pupp" also appeared in early issues of some DC comics. Did he own the strip? Any guesses here, Jim?

Hope this info helps.

--Ken

[kquattro]

I find Eisner to be VERY inconsistent and virtually "style-free" this early. I would wonder, in this case, what he would doing drawing a cover for a magazine that was assembled (I think - again, my knowledge of Wags is virtually non-existent) in the U.K. If Eisner/Iger was only providing part of the material, the editors of Wags must have been dealing with other syndicates to get strips like Moon Mullins, so why would E/I be paid to create a cover?

Eisner definitely drew covers for some of the material they supplied to Powers. There are several signed examples of these in the online version of my "Rare Eisner" article here:  http://comicartville.com/rareeisner2.htm

The original art for some of these covers still exists. This I know for a fact as I know the folks who owned them.

I agree Eisner was all over the place at this point of his career, but I still feel strongly that this particular cover was drawn by him.

Also, many of the labeled Phoenix strips in Jumbo #3 have dates on them, just like REAL newspaper strips. Do any of the "Heroes of Sports" or "Uncle Otto" or "Pee Wee" or "Gilda Gay" strips appear in your issues of Wags and do any of them have dates?

No, no dated strips and the issues I have don't contain any of the strips you listed. The only one that contains the Universal Phoenix Features copyright is the "Scrappy" strip in #36.

--Ken

[kquattro]

can you confirm that The Hawk strips in the early large-sized Jumbos were NOT reformatted from Wags, but printed "as is"? Eisner's intro the Kitchen Sink "Hawks of the Sea" reprint volume says that it was presented in Wags as a "Sunday strip" and the KS reprints match the episodes in Jumbo #3,5 & 8 exactly. I always thought that it wasn't until issue 10 and shrinking of the title that the overseas "Sunday strips" had to be reformatted to accommodate the reduced space. Is this true?

The only large-sized JUMBO I have is #4 and the "Hawks" strip is reprinted in the same format as in WAGS as Eisner said. Issue #10 was definitely reformatted, cut apart and repasted to fit the smaller format.

[pervysage]

I may not include all the information discussed here, but it is definitely information I was previously unfamiliar with and makes for an interesting read.

Thanks guys.

Also kquattro would you mind if I utilized your Wags cover scan as a reference when I mention Sheena's appearances in that Magazine?

[JVJ]

Eisner definitely drew covers for some of the material they supplied to Powers. There are several signed examples of these in the online version of my "Rare Eisner" article here:  http://comicartville.com/rareeisner2.htm

The original art for some of these covers still exists. This I know for a fact as I know the folks who owned them.

Thanks, Ken
That explains a lot. I never knew the details of how the Wags material originated (or maybe I once did and have since forgotten...).

It's curious that the single strips ("Heroes of Sports", "Uncle Otto", "Pee Wee", "Gilda Gay") don't appear in your issues of Wags. Does ANYONE out there have any 1937 books/comics/magazines in which they DID appear?

By the way, which "episodes" (if they are numbered) of the strips like Spencer Steele and Hunchback, etc., appear in the two issues of Wags that you have?

I found Iger's self-aggrandizement and his belittlement of Eisner in that ComicArtVille Library piece to be rather pitiful - as if he still considered himself to somehow be more significant in the history of comics. I suppose, quantity-wise, he was, but by every other measurement he falls rather short.

Thanks for your input and help. Always glad to know you're out there.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[kquattro]

Also kquattro would you mind if I utilized your Wags cover scan as a reference when I mention Sheena's appearances in that Magazine?

Certainly, go right ahead.

--Ken Quattro

[kquattro]

It's curious that the single strips ("Heroes of Sports", "Uncle Otto", "Pee Wee", "Gilda Gay") don't appear in your issues of Wags. Does ANYONE out there have any 1937 books/comics/magazines in which they DID appear?

I've been wondering if those single strips were produced for Eisner/Iger's attempt at newspaper strip syndication and were held back initially from use in comic books? As I said, the only feature in WAGS that had the Universal Phoenix Features copyright was "Scrappy" and that was syndicated in a few papers at least. "Gilda Gay" also made it into some papers as did a few other Eisner/Iger strips. If I had to guess, it was the failure to gain wide-spread newspaper syndication that led Eisner/Iger to re-use those particular strips when they began supplying material to American comic books. 

By the way, which "episodes" (if they are numbered) of the strips like Spencer Steele and Hunchback, etc., appear in the two issues of Wags that you have?

Issue #13 contained strips numbered with a "10" in the bottom right panel. Issue #36 had a "33" in that panel.

I found Iger's self-aggrandizement and his belittlement of Eisner in that ComicArtVille Library piece to be rather pitiful - as if he still considered himself to somehow be more significant in the history of comics. I suppose, quantity-wise, he was, but by every other measurement he falls rather short.

I agree. It was sad considering his own real accomplishments were enough to warrant a significant place in comic history. He was no Will Eisner, but his shop was a major player for a long time.

Thanks for your input and help. Always glad to know you're out there.

Glad I could finally reciprocate, Jim! I can't begin to repay all the kindness and info-sharing you've given me over the years and but when I can, I will.

--Ken

[JVJ]

The pleasure has been mine, Ken,
and thank you for the kind words.

I have often speculated on just how much of the EI Shop "strips" ever got syndicated and how much of the material was created in that format to APPEAR as if it had been.

A break with his London based agent T. V. Boardman led to the loss of the British rights to some of his syndicated strips and Powers scrambled to find new content for his comics. He came to Universal Phoenix Features (Eisner/Iger's syndicate) and in Wags #17, April 23, 1937, they made their debut. In order to fill their new clients needs, the Eisner/Iger shop grew, employing Wow! alumni Bob Kane and Dick Briefer along with Mort Meskin and others.

It's obvious that the major strips (Hawk, Sheena, etc.) were done specifically to fill pages in Wags, since they were done in Sunday page format and never saw print in U.S. newspapers. Perhaps strips like Peter Pupp, Wilton of the West, Count of Monte Christo, ZX-5 were created to fill the pages of Jumbo AND the smaller "panel strips" like Uncle Otto, Pee Wee, etc., were generated in 1938 with "old" dates on them to make them APPEAR is if they were newspaper strip reprints. Since many of them have UPF copyrights, it may have been a means of commanding a higher price from Scott at Fiction House or an attempt by E/I to "own" some of the contents of the comic.

I don't know, but it sure is peculiar. What other outlets did E/I have? You say that Gilda Gay did appear in "some" papers. Which ones? When? Would be curious to know.

Again, thanks for your help in explaining all this to me. There is always MORE to learn, eh?

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[JVJ]

PS. What is it with the English back then? They couldn't seem to date ANYTHING!  Wags was a weekly magazine - you'd think that they could at least put WHAT week somewhere in the issue. I even have some British annuals with no dates. Weird.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[kquattro]

I don't know, but it sure is peculiar. What other outlets did E/I have? You say that Gilda Gay did appear in "some" papers. Which ones? When? Would be curious to know.

I have seen "Gilda Gay" in an early-Forties Indiana newspaper (the name escapes me right now) as well as the old (really old, as in Eisner's first professional art old!) "Harry Karey" strip and the "Stars on Parade" feature that first appeared in WOW, WHAT A MAGAZINE! back in 1936. I'm pretty sure "Pee Wee" (or maybe it was the similar Iger strip "Bobby") also saw newspaper publication. There may be even more, but that's the ones I know of for sure.

Again, thanks for your help in explaining all this to me. There is always MORE to learn, eh?

It's the neverending battle for truth, Jim!

-- Ken