Print

[Robb_K]

I have recently been accumulating scans of art from some Golden Age Comics whose books were completely, or almost completely drawn, and planned or scheduled for issuance, and in some cases, even printed up and bound, but not published (issued and distributed), due to that publisher ceasing operations and going out of business, or that series previous issue not selling enough to justify continuing the series. I have been attempting to re-construct those originally-planned books, to add to the production histories of each individual original producing publishing company, with hopes that as many as possible can be uploaded to this CB+ website, IF documentation and/or confirmation can be found to prove the books were planned for release.
To that end, I will first be posting separate threads for each individual would-have-been book, hoping to see if other CB+ posters have any knowledge of the original planning of these books, and can lead me to documentation of what contents were planned to be printed in them.

The first, and likely easiest with which to deal, is Fox Features 1946 planned issue of The Adventures of Patoruzu, an American reprint of the earliest daily newspaper strips by original author/artist, Dante Quinterno, of the comedic Argentinian newly-elected last of The (fictional) indigenous Tehuelches Tribe, living in Patagonia, far from civilisation. 

To my knowledge, Fox only released the front cover of this planned book, after apparently paying for the rights to publish it in USA, and, also apparently paying some of their internal staff to adapt the art received newspaper page format to US comic book page layout, and paid someone to translate the original Spanish text and dialogue to English. The front covers have been found covering four different reprinted books inside pages, two from Green Publishing (probably issued in 1957), are a reprint of Fox Features Animal Crackers 31 (1st issue), and a previously-unpublished issue of Animal Crackers, which surely must have been planned for the second issue of Animal Crackers, which would have been #32, issued in 1957. The third was covering a reprint of Charltons From Here To Insanity 10, from 1955, and the fourth covered a reprint of a 1940s Fox romance comic book. 

What, apparently, is the drawn, inked, and possibly even printed and bound insides of Foxs planned Patoruzu book, which may have been used as is, by just stapling on the covers Fox had ready, after acquiring both the covers and uncovered, bound insides in a publishers distress, going-out-of-business sale in 1951, or from a similar storage warehouse sale in 1957. GCD is unclear, and possibly incorrect on their dating of Green Publishings issue dates.  Personally, I think all of their issues involving Patoruzu, and Animal Crackers were released in 1957 (none in 1946). It is my goal to unite the Fox-produced cover and insides, to produce Foxs planned issue, and have it placed in CB+s Comic Book section, in its producing publishers (Foxs) section.  But, to do that, I need some confirmation from official sources that the books insides ARE the pages that Fox planned for their 1946 Patoruzu book.

Here is the cover:

Here is the first page of the 29-page Patoruzu story:

As there is no title to the story on this first, inside, newsprint page, we can only conclude that the inside front cover was an introduction page to this series and story. Fox started some of their books first stories on the inside front cover on 3-colour, red, white, and black pages, sometimes with an introduction to the main character or characters on top, and with a title for the story and the beginning action below that, and with the text indicia at the bottom.  Here is the inside front cover of Foxs Pedro 2, showing the 1st storys Title, and beginning, without the character introduction, because that would have been in Issue#1(which CB+ does not have:

I have made up a placeholder page, with series character introductions, to insert as the missing page IF we get to upload this planned, but unissued book onto CB+.

The following Old George(presumably originally Jorge Viejo) story, seemingly drawn by the same artist(Dante Quinterno), is a 3-page filler also printed in the Green 1957 issue:


The following feature, Do You Know Why?, is an educational/entertainment page filler, that rounds out the books newsprint pages, leaving the inside back cover and back cover for advertising:


Many of the inside pages have the panels situated in a pattern that makes it difficult to read.  It looks like a very amateurish job, rather than professional.  Perhaps that is why this book was cancelled by Fox.  Maybe the extra cost of translation of the Spanish newspaper strips, and the amount of work it would take Fox or more costly, more competent outside hired graphics-trained help to reformat the newspaper panels to comic book layout made Victor Fox decide to cancel the series, altogether?  Whether that was the reason, or Foxs tax and legal problems, and severely curtailing his operation soon before closing down completely, I need to get some confirmation that the insides published in Green Publishings 1957 issue, are, indeed the insides planned for Foxs Adventures of Patoruzu in 1946. Any additional information on the production history of this Fox Features planned book will be of help, to me and greatly appreciated, especially any documentation proving it was planned as I have deduced.