[rmdavidson]

As a long-time Kelly collector, I have never started Peter Wheat as I was too intimidated by the number of issues available and the scarcity of them.

You are my hero!

Thanks,

Richard

[OtherEric]

As a long-time Kelly collector, I have never started Peter Wheat as I was too intimidated by the number of issues available and the scarcity of them.

I don't know how far I'll get.  But a largely untapped and unknown source of Public Domain Kelly material?  I'm going to do my level best to see how much I can find and post.  (Happily, I don't need to worry about the search driving me crazy- I'm already there.  )

[OtherEric]

Target Comics v9 n06 now ready for download; my copy is coverless but Yoc found a nice copy of the FC on Heritage.

[OtherEric]

Peter Wheat Coloring Book now available for download.  Not our typical item, and if anybody over my rank tells me to take it down I will.  But as a rare Walt Kelly book in the Public Domain I think it deserves a place here.

I'm curious as to what other Kelly fans think of it; very little of the book really screams "Kelly" to me.  The Cover, in particular, I'm pretty sure isn't Kelly.  And many of the pictures look like they may just be panels from the comic, blown up and touched up by somebody else.  Either that, or Kelly was working in a simpler style to make things easier to color.  With that said, there's little other than the cover where something makes me think it isn't Kelly.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

[Yoc]

Thanks Eric!
I can see Kelly in the insides - especially on pg13 with the big tree.
Kelly's eyes always jump out at me.  A warmth in them that I love.

Thanks for sharing this new bit of Kelly history with us!

[rmdavidson]

Just to add my two cents (and overpriced at that) it looks to me that the whole Peter Wheat Coloring Book is based on Kelly drawings but not drawn by him.  In other words, traced or copied.  The confidence of the line, the weight, etc lead me to that conclusion.  The only drawings that look like they are actually by Kelly are the first inside page and the last inside page (both with the product pictured).  The Pogo Coloring Books that came later were also drawn by other hands.  But it's still a cool item to have.  Thanks!

Richard

[OtherEric]

I think you may have hit it, Richard.  I think there is enough Kelly in there to legitimately tag it as Kelly- I'm not going to argue with the Fort Mudge Most- but it's near the minimum to get that ID.  I'm very interested in what Jon and JVJ have to say.

[JonTheScanner]

I don't see much Kelly in here at all to be honest.  Perhaps a model sheet.  Perhaps blown-up pictures of his reinked by others.

The bird on the title page (and perhaps all of that page) might be Kelly. 

The tree on page 12 looks Kellyish.

The last page might be Kelly.

[JVJ]

I think you may have hit it, Richard.  I think there is enough Kelly in there to legitimately tag it as Kelly- I'm not going to argue with the Fort Mudge Most- but it's near the minimum to get that ID.  I'm very interested in what Jon and JVJ have to say.

I resisted commenting, Eric, because I don't feel that I'm qualified to speak authoritatively on this and I didn't want to prejudice the discussion (it's weird how many threads I seem to terminate...). I would be inclined to agree with Richard's assessment, for the same reason - the verve of Kelly's brush line is muted here, but there could be other reasons for that. A telling point would be if some of the pages occurred as panels in earlier Peter Wheat comics, but that's a daunting task and we don't have access to all of the PW comics.

(|:{>

ps. consider this a "one-week notice" for any questions or requests. I'll be unable to do physical research into the comics from March 20 to May 3.

[OtherEric]

I think that works as a tentative assessment by several people whose opinion I trust, then: The book contains reworked (traced/ copied/ edited) and/or stock Kelly art but does not appear to have any original work by him?  That work for people?

Still glad to have it for people to see, that's for sure.  One thing I will note is that I don't see any trace of Hubbard, who took over the strip in 1951.  (I do have one of the Hubbard issues en route; that should make for a nice comparison.  Hubbard is no Kelly but he's a very underrated artist.)

[OtherEric]

And now, from out of the depths of my collection:

Spirit Section 4/23/1944.  But this one is slightly odd even for those, it doesn't have a newspaper masthead or date on it.  What it does have is Will Eisner's signature up there, in what looks like Grease Pencil, despite this being an issue he didn't work on while in the Army.  I had to figure out the date using the GCD.  The book was clearly glued together at the spine before it was trimmed, but it wasn't trimmed very evenly.  Still, a neat book including what looks to me like Jack Cole on the Spirit, Klaus Nordling on Lady Luck, and Fred Guardineer on Mr. Mystic.

[JVJ]

And now, from out of the depths of my collection:

Spirit Section 4/23/1944.  But this one is slightly odd even for those, it doesn't have a newspaper masthead or date on it.  What it does have is Will Eisner's signature up there, in what looks like Grease Pencil, despite this being an issue he didn't work on while in the Army.  I had to figure out the date using the GCD.  The book was clearly glued together at the spine before it was trimmed, but it wasn't trimmed very evenly.  Still, a neat book including what looks to me like Jack Cole on the Spirit, Klaus Nordling on Lady Luck, and Fred Guardineer on Mr. Mystic.

Do you think that Jack Cole might have had a hand in that Lady Luck episode as well, Eric? I've not followed the progression of Nordling's style as much as I have with other artists, but this looks intriguingly like Cole to me.

2

[OtherEric]

I don't think it's impossible, Jim.  I'm going mostly off the signatures on the last two stories, but even before you asked I thought some faces in the Lady Luck looked a bit like Cole's work.  I have no idea if that's just because they were working for the same shop, or if Jack actually did something on the story. 

I take it you agree with my guess at Cole as at least one of the people working on the Spirit story?  I'm not sure he did the whole thing, but some of it just screams his work.

[JVJ]

I take it you agree with my guess at Cole as at least one of the people working on the Spirit story?  I'm not sure he did the whole thing, but some of it just screams his work.

Yes, there is something in The Spirit strip poses that reminds me of Cole. Can't say for sure. Perhaps Eisner commented upon this particular episode in one of the reprint volumes...

(|:{>

[OtherEric]

Peter Wheat News 19 and 43 now posted; as I mentioned in the other thread it seems nobody knew 43 existed before today...

Kelly art in 19, Hubbard in 43.  I'm trying to decide if Kelly did the cover on 19. I think he did at least the Peter figure but it may have been stock art; I'm debating on the Witch. Anybody else think the creators of Bewitched saw this when they were younger?  (It came out over a decade before that series started.)

Anyway, a bit offbeat, but enjoy!

[Yoc]

Thanks Eric!

[OtherEric]

A telling point would be if some of the pages occurred as panels in earlier Peter Wheat comics, but that's a daunting task and we don't have access to all of the PW comics.

But, I just realized, we did Jackpot onto one of them.  Page 15 of the Coloring book is a redrawn version of the last panel of Story Page 2 in Peter Wheat News 19.  Now I'm trying to decide if any of the illustration is actually from the Kelly work, or if it's completely redrawn.  Expert opinions welcome; I'm leaning on the side of "completely redrawn based on Kelly's original panel" but I'm not positive.

I'm just loving this; even if we prove the Coloring book is all non-Kelly; the fact that a) we've tracked down the source of one page; and b) narrowed down the release date to close to October of 1951 is cool to me.  This is the first time I've ever felt I'm doing any sort of truly original research on old comics, even if it is a relatively minor subject.

[PeterC]

Very cool, OtherEric... nice spotting!

Here's an image of them side by side:

and here;s an overlay of the evil guy...

I've circled the areas that are re-drawn/inked differently.  If I had to guess, I would say it was done with a light-table.  Everything is very close, but not quite...

Peter

[JVJ]

A telling point would be if some of the pages occurred as panels in earlier Peter Wheat comics, but that's a daunting task and we don't have access to all of the PW comics.

But, I just realized, we did Jackpot onto one of them.  Page 15 of the Coloring book is a redrawn version of the last panel of Story Page 2 in Peter Wheat News 19.  Now I'm trying to decide if any of the illustration is actually from the Kelly work, or if it's completely redrawn.  Expert opinions welcome; I'm leaning on the side of "completely redrawn based on Kelly's original panel" but I'm not positive.

I'm just loving this; even if we prove the Coloring book is all non-Kelly; the fact that a) we've tracked down the source of one page; and b) narrowed down the release date to close to October of 1951 is cool to me.  This is the first time I've ever felt I'm doing any sort of truly original research on old comics, even if it is a relatively minor subject.

Great Job, Eric,
It takes constant alertness and effort to make those kinds of connections. Yes, there is still a TON of original research possible (and sorely needed) in the comics field. Please keep it up.

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[OtherEric]

Thank you, Peter.  The comparison pics you did make it pretty clear that it's redrawn.

(I don't have much to add to what you said; your pictures are really worth a thousand words.  But I REALLY appreciate you doing that; I don't want you to mistake my lack of commentary for a lack of gratitude.)

Update:  Spotted another one; and this one we already had:  Most of page 11 of the Coloring book came from Adventures of Peter Wheat 19, page 2, panel 2.

[Yoc]

Wow, fantastic detective work gang!

[OtherEric]

And now for something a bit more on Target...

Target Comics v10 n3 ready for download.  While the title sort of limped along a couple more issues as Target Western Romances 106 and 107 before becoming Flaming Western Romances 3 and then disappearing altogether, this is for most intents and purposes the last issue.  Cover to Cover, starting with a very nice cover by L B Cole.  Enjoy!

[Yoc]

Very cool, thanks Eric!

[OtherEric]

And back again to my current Peter Wheat obsession...

Issues 47, 55, and 57 now ready for download.  Nice Al Hubbard art, but not nearly as good as the Kelly material.  55 is quite oddball, though- it's subtitled "A Trip Through The Bakery" and reads much more like an educational giveaway than the entertainment giveaway Peter Wheat normally is.  It even has a slightly modified logo, but is quite clearly issue 55. 

[Yoc]

Thanks for the new shares Eric